Natsu's Predicament
by ILAUGHATYOUALL
Summary: Natsu is clueless. Mirajane's got love potion up her sleeve. Gajeel's gone just about crazy and Jellal's not that far behind. What does kissing have to do with large hairy double spider beasts? What does it feel like to be stuck in a coffin? All these strange statements, questions, and speculations will eventually be answered! Just remember that it's Natsu's Predicament, not ours.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, there, I am ILAUGHATYOUALL. ;P

This is my first fanfiction, so don't blow up at me if I get something wrong, please.

The next chapter will come out as soon as I see some suggestions.

DISCLAIMER: I'm a blonde girl with green eyes and tan skin. DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK I COULD IMPERSONATE HIRO MASHIMA?

* * *

Natsu ran as fast as he could. His heart felt like it was being pounded to dust. He was breathing hard, sweating hard, and doing everything as hard as possible. He had to get there as fast as he could, for Lucy. They had been returning from a mission, everything unharmed (well, everything except the client's _house_). She'd been yelling at him ferociously until he just stood there, walking slowly, barely looking where he was going.

_FLASHBACK_

_Lucy glared at him and said loudly, "We could have salvaged at least the foundation of his house, you know!"_

"_Sorry, Luce, I really didn't _mean_ to!" Natsu pouted. "And besides, that guy was super rich! He could pay for it!"_

"_Th-that has nothing to do with it," She snapped, "You could have killed us all!"_

_He could have... killed... her..._

_His heart dropped like a stone. He walked up to her, and leaned in to her face to look at her straight in the eyes._

"_I'm sorry."_

_They were nose-to-nose. Lucy yelped and turned around to avoid his face. He blushed slightly._

_Meanwhile, a certain blue exceed was about to interrupt this love-fest._

"_What's with the face, Natsu? Oooooo! You l-i-ke her, don't you!" A blue furball flew around their heads, where he had been previously whining about not getting enough fish. Now Happy the 'dragon' had contended that it was much more pleasant to make fun of Natsu._

"_Shut up!" Natsu yelled, enraged. _(Well, you dooo) _Natsu then commenced to chasing after Happy and trying to pull his ears – ooooo if he _ever_ got the chance to do that he would just about lose it, he was so mad at Happy right now._

_Lucy, however, was lost in thought..._

_His face when he said 'I'm sorry' had been so freaking sincere she could barely handle it. His onyx eyes were determined, as usual, but something was different about them. And Natsu's reaction to Happy's comment was unusual also. His anger surprised her, as he usually was a bit playful when scolding Happy. And now, it was like what Happy had said was actually _true._ Was it?Was Natsu really that romantic?_

_And then she noticed Natsu freaking out and running after Happy with flame spitting out of his mouth like an irritated little kid after an ice cream truck that didn't spot him._

_Maybe _not...

_And then it happened._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

He shook out of his little flashback as he ran up to a suspicious looking canyon.

And then he saw her.

Natsu didn't have a freaking idea what to do. He wanted to run to her side, he wanted to help her, to hold her in his arms and... _SNAP OUT OF IT, you _**MORON**

Lucy was laying there, on the ground, on the bottom of a freaking canyon, covered in...

Blood.

How did Lucy get down there? Who did this to her?

Was it that presence he sensed earlier?

She had left just 30 minutes before, saying that she had something she had to take care of, and would be back at the guild in 10 minutes. She had left, smiling as usual, though he could tell something was wrong, he was a bit hurt from her comments earlier. He and happy had returned to the guild, however, she didn't come back.

Natsu had begun sniffing right away, using those dragon-slayer abilities. He knew what he was looking for. She smelled inexplicably of vanilla. He wasn't sure why. He had left Happy back at the guild for the reason of being annoying.

"You just want her all to _yourself, _don't you?" said a disappointed Happy.

"Shut up, cat," he said without any particular emotion. Happy watched him as he left the guild in search of Lucy. So did Gray, Erza, and Mira.

"What's up with _him_?" said Gray.

"I will interrogate him when he returns, Gray, do not worry," said Erza.

"Oooooh! I bet he's _lovestruck_!" Mira shouted in glee.

_Meanwhile..._

He had looked(and sniffed) for her frantically for 20 minutes after her ETA(Estimated Time of Arrival), and finally found her here, at the bottom of a canyon. And whatever Lucy had been up to, whatever getting beat up at the bottom of a canyon had to do with something she had to take care of, he was going to find out.

And then, there was the possibility she was dead...

_NO! Shut the hell up, self!_

With this new terrible possibility his eyes flashed open. His vision turned red as he surveyed the scene. If he was ever fired up, it was _now. _He felt like he could beat the crap out of Laxus with one hit right now. He quickly scanned the surrounding area, and, finding nothing threatening, shot towards the ground like a bullet.

Except his decent wasn't too graceful, to put it frankly.

"LU- AACK!"

He slipped down the side of the big ditch and landed on his butt on the bottom. He was up in the next split second, unfazed, and he ran to her.

"Lucy! LUCY!"

No response. He momentarily forgot the raging hell in which he was going to put the person responsible through.

"Aw, Dammit! What the hell happened to you?" he yelled aloud.

She was obviously hurt in more than one place, so he was extra careful as he picked her up gently into his arms and held her. Her blond hair was all tangled and messy, a bit sticky with blood, too. Head wound.

He noticed her breathing as her chest rose and fell. Relief washed through him like a waterfall.

She muttered in her unconsciousness, something like, "Natsu."

_Lucy... Lucy said his _name_? In her _sleep_? Then, did that mean..._

What the hell? He shook the image out of his head. He couldn't get distracted. Not at a time like this!

And, heck, why was he even distracted? No! He wasn't distracted, just _really_ worried!

AAAAAAAH!

He couldn't argue with his own freaking self! Lucy was injured, for that dang ole' Pete's sake! Why would he try to do something like that when her _life _could be at stake? He then made the mistake of looking down at her bruised face again.

_Lu – cy..._

"Snap out of it!" he roared to himself. What was _wrong _with him?

Now irritated, he decided to find a way out of the freaking mess he was in. In fact, the bottom of the canyon he was in didn't exactly seem like the best place to be, or the easiest place to get out of. It was getting dark, too. And then he realized just as he noticed the sun setting just how bad Lucy's wounds were.

Other than her head wound, she had a cut on her right cheek, and some bruising on her face. Check.

He shifted her in his arms so he could examine the rest of her injuries.

Her...t - t - _torso_ seemed okay, he guessed. Natsu's heart felt like it was pounding out of his chest for some reason.

Lucy's legs, however, were a different story all together. They were bashed and bruised so much it kind of looked like she had been attacked by a rather brutal dwarf. He _almost _laughed, but then reality hit him again. What a complete ass he was! Thinking about funny stuff when she was hurt?

Natsu furrowed his brow and set his onyx eyes with a determined glare at the top of the canyon.

He _had_ to get her to safety. There was no other option. She was _not_ going to die. He would _not _allow that to happen.

And why did he feel so determined like this?

Was it because they were great friends? No. It felt different than that.

Was it because it felt like they were siblings? No, when Erza was in trouble he had been enraged at the fact that someone could make his big sis cry, but this was different.

Maybe she was like his _little_ sister? Nah, already been through _that_.

And how would he react if she died?

Suddenly his head was full of images of Lucy, her smile, her giggle, her enraged look when she discovered he had broken into her house, her other enraged look when she found out that Natsu and Happy had came over for a sleepover, uninvited, her big, brown, beautiful eyes, her determined glare when someone she cared about was in danger, and finally, a creepy tombstone... (Whaa, NATSU?)

Crap.

If she died, would he ever be able to face himself again? No, he would probably melt away. No- _burn _away. That sounded more _dramatic._

As Natsu became lost in thought, he failed to notice a presence entering the canyon floor, and failed to notice the sleeping spell that was being cast.

By the time did Natsu notice, he was already groggy. He stumbled, leaning backwards purposely so that he could take the impact of the ground instead of Lucy.

"Ooof!" His back slammed into the ground, and he was fighting the growing urge to sleep.

"No.. I.. gotta .. save.. her," he croaked.

Natsu hugged Lucy tighter, not wanting anything to take her away from him as he faded into unconsciousness with her. If she died, or heck, if he died, nobody was going to spend their last seconds alone.

The image in his head as he fell into unconsciousness was that of a bandaged man in a blue-black cloak standing over him. His last thought, however,

_Lucy_

* * *

_AND NOW... FOR THE CHARACTER OPINIONS!_

Natsu: Seriously?

Me: (giggles inside at Todd Haberkorn's voice) Whaaaaaaat! I can't see _you _doing any better, lover-boy_!_

Natsu: Shuddap! I'm just upset that I fell prey to that sleeping spell! I can do better than that!

Me: Dude, you couldn't have avoided that spell even if you _weren't _lovestruck.

Natsu: I was _not _lovestruck! Leave me alone!

Me: Yeah.. Whatever you say... _lover-boy_

;P

Pleas Rate and Review and Subscribe!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, guys! This was so fun I decided to upload the next chapter the same day! Thank you Rose Tiger, MonstahEmperor, Louricam The Manga Freak, IchigoDREAM, TheSexyBitchesFromFiore, Annalisa Yoru, and anyone else who reviewed the 1st chapter that I didn't notice!

* * *

"_Natsu, I love you."_

"_Lucy, I love you."_

_The young celestial wizard looked up into his onyx eyes._

"_I love you more."_

_Natsu shook his pink head._

_You couldn't love me more than I love you."_

_Her eyes were full of emotion as she went on her tiptoes kissed him._

_Wow. Vanilla._

"Natsu! Wake up!"

Natsu felt himself be shaken awake cruelly by someone.

He jumped.

It was the person he had just kissed.

"Huh?" he muttered.

"Get up, lazy," Lucy Heartfilia giggled, shoving his shoulders, "You've been asleep for too long!"

Asleep?

Oh, damn it. A dream.

A dream that he kissed Lucy in... !

_WHY WAS HE _DREAMING_ THAT? _(Man, you are bad at romance scenes, Natsu)

Blushing furiously, Natsu turned away from her and jumped out of the bed he was in.

"Hey, Natsu, you couldn't possibly have been dreaming about kissing someone, could you?", Lucy asked, smirking.

Natsu jumped. "Why the hell would you think that?"

"Easy," she smirked, "you were slobbering all over your pillow. It was gross. I could barely handle it."

Suddenly the previous events hit him. The memories of Lucy at the bottom of a canyon, covered in blood. And a bandaged figure... in a blue-black cloak.

"Lucy!"

"What? Why are you yelling? Can't you be quiet in the infirmary?"

Infirmary? He shook that thought off. He needed to know if Lucy was alright. _Now._

"U-uh, are you okay?"

"What do you mean, Natsu?"

"Well, you were almost dead at the bottom of the canyon, I _think _you might be fazed slightly."

Lucy paled, but Natsu didn't notice it because he was facing away from her.

_Did he still remember? _she thought.

"W-what are you talking about, Natsu? Are you sure you weren't dreaming that? Seriously," she laughed nervously, "are you crazy enough to think that something you saw in a dream was reality?"

But Natsu was thinking now.(Finally :)) He turned to her and looked her straight in the eye.

She almost melted. _Almost._

"Then why am I in the infirmary, Lucy?" he asked softly, but with the tone of someone who wanted to be answered.

That question really put her between a rock and a hard place.

And then she thought of it. The _perfect_ excuse.

"Gajeel beat you and threw you down the stairs," she said in a monotone.

"?"

Natsu jumped up straight out of his position like a rocket, ready for battle.

"I'M GONNA KILL THAT ASSHOLE!"

He forgot whatever he was going to ask Lucy and started screaming, demanding a rematch.

"I'M ALL FIRED UP, NOW, GAJEEL! AND GUESS WHAT? I'M COMING FOR YAH!"

Lucy face palmed. Maybe this wasn'tthe _perfect _excuse. She sighed as she watched the enraged fire dragon slayer yell about how Gajeel was going to _get it _and run down the hallway and into the guild hall.

She watched him as he ran around, frantically trying to find Gajeel, never stopping once to realize he never remembered actually being beaten by him in the first place.

Lucy smiled. He was just so _dense _sometimes. Then she started laughing, an uncontrollable giggle that she couldn't stop, no matter how hard she tried.

And then she remembered her promise. She stopped laughing abruptly and felt a terrible feeling in her stomach.

She ran to the guild hall and out the door.

"Lucy."

She stopped dead in her tracks. The dark figure showed himself and beckoned her.

She sighed in relief, and followed the figure.

"Oh, it's just you. And here I thought somebody had figured me out."

Meanwhile...

"GAJEEL! I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE! I WON'T EVER BE BEAT BY YOU! _EVER!_"

The pink haired fire dragon slayer was crashing through the forest, now. He would _find _Gajeel. He would _give it _to him.

And then Natsu stopped to think for a moment as he stood at a clearing in the forest. (Goooood, Natsu! Another step in the right direction!)

Did he ever get beaten by Gajeel in the first place? He realized with finality that Lucy had tricked him. Where was she? Did she play a prank on him and then just _leave_? He puzzled over this for a while, hurt that Lucy would lie to him. Until he noticed someone laughing somewhere.

Was that-

"Man, Squinty-eyes, that was a real prank Lucy just pulled on you! I'll have to ask her for some advice on the subject later!" Gray Fullbuster, the ice mage, stepped into Natsu's vision in the clearing.

"You got a problem, Droopy-eyes?"

"Fire-brain!"

"Ice-queen!"

"Hot-head!"

"Panties!"

Cana had left the guild hall for some reason, and she came upon Natsu and Gray, yelling at eachother. She smiled. It was time to get Erza.

Meanwhile...

"So, have you been able to break the curse yet?" Lucy asked the figure, fiddling with her fingers nervously.

"No, but I have found a clue," said the voice inside the bandages.(Whoah. The _voice inside the bandages. _Pats self on back)

She and the man in the blue-black cloak had found a private place in the forest. Lucy looked at him. He was pacing, obviously thinking about how to phrase the clue. She decided to play matchmaker, instead.

"You know," Lucy said. "If Erza finds you out here, she'll probably cry. You need to be a bit more careful."

"You're kind of stupid sometimes!" he came back, rather loudly.

Lucy squeaked a little bit, shocked. Stupid?

"If she found us out here, she would obviously think I was Mystogan!"

Um... Well... There was a _slight _problemwith that. She decided to let it be for the moment.

"So _that's _why you decided to dress up like Mystogan?" she inquired, "so that you wouldn't have to face her?"

The hooded figure sighed.

"Maybe you're right. And look, I'm sorry for snapping at you."

"Forgiven. _This_ time."

Lucy smiled at the mage. Then she frowned, thinking of Erza.

"You know," she said, "I think you really should take your costume off."

"W-why?" he stuttered.

She grinned.

"Because I think I can come up with a better disguise."

While Lucy fantasized about all the shopping she could do, she momentarily forgot the bad predicament she was in.

The bandaged mage sighed. He _really _didn't want to do this, but this was Erza's friend. If she died because he had refused to help her, what would she do if she found out?

He decided to do what Lucy said, to put off giving her the clue that could possibly ruin her.

He pulled the bandages off of his face, and he stared at Lucy.

"How's this?" said Jellal Fernandez.

* * *

By the way, this chapter is a bit shorter than the 1st one because I _really _wanted to end on a cliff hanger.

Anyway, READ AND REVIEW, PEOPLE, IT'S FUN!

PS: Check out my story on FictionPress, it's called: Imperial Chronicles: Book One


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, everyone! Guess I _did _manage to get it done today...

Any way, I've decided to put off some of the NaLu for some of the later chapters and go ahead with some... well... you'll find out...

I'm so evil! See why at the end of the chapter... heeheeheeheeeeee

* * *

To put it frankly, Erza was _pissed._

There, right in front of her, were those two blockheads arguing over something _stupid. _

_Again._

And then she grinned an evil grin as she thought of the perfect plan. She ran to get Mirajane and Cana to help her.

They would never even guess.

Meanwhile...

"Gray! I'm gonna kick your butt, Naked-sissy!" yelled the infuriated dragon slayer.

"Hah! I'll freeze your foot, Scarf-sissy!" retorted the infuriated ice mage.

"NAAAAAAATSUUUUUUUUUUU! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAY HELP MEEEEEEEEEEE!" yelled a girl's voice.

Both boy's heads twisted to the direction the sound came from.

"Lucy!" they said at the same time.

Cana popped out of nowhere. She couldn't fight the urge anymore.

"Gray, your _clothes?_"

She stepped back behind the tree in time, just as Natsu freaked out and started demanding to know who said that. Gray, on the other hand, freaked out and started looking for his long lost clothes.

Neither was successful. Instead, they decided to fight with each other and had momentarily forgotten the scream that they had heard earlier.

Well, almost. Gray was a bit smarter than that.

"Natsu, I may not be wearing much, but I do know that someone just cried for help!" he yelled in Natsu's ear.

Natsu froze. For some reason he thought that the person he had heard scream earlier was Lucy...

He furrowed his brow and started sprinting towards where the scream had come from. Gray sighed, thinking about how stupid Natsu was for not realizing what he felt, and ran after him.

Meanwhile...

"Say whaaat?" yelled Jellal.

Lucy scowled.

"You should be grateful! It's not every day I tell a guy he's cute! And don't you get any funny ideas, Mr. Villain! You didn't even let me finish! I was saying how cute you looked when you were thinking about Erza!"

Jellal's entire head turn bright red and steam came shooting out of his ears.

"W-what are you-" he got cut off by Lucy yet again.

"What am I insinuating? Hah! I believe," she grinned, "that we need to take our minds off our little 'problem' for just a moment, and play some candid camera."

Jellal was still scarred from her last comment about Erza. He was sweating, now, as she cheerfully explained who they were going prank on. Then he smiled, and decided to get her back for playing 'matchmaker'.

"Hey," he said, "who taught you to prank people like that?"

She looked at me like I was a completely hopeless idiot.

"I taught _myself, _of _course_!" she said loudly.

"Is that so," he said, grinning quite devilishly. (If you do say so yourself, Jellal. XD)

Lucy eyed him suspiciously.

"What are you thinking?"

"Aw, nothing much," he said, his smile widening, "I just thought that- you know- maybe the one the taught you could be- I dunno- _Natsu_?"

Lucy flinched at the mention of his name. She sat there, squirming for a moment.

"Well," she squirmed a bit more, and Jellal laughed internally.

"It could, well, technically it could possibly sort of maybe been Natsu? Kind of?" She looked up at Jellal.

He stared back at her incredulously.

"Sort of? Possibly? Maybe? Kind of? Really? Are you seriously that dense, Lucy?"

She glared back at him with anger that could rival Erza's. It was Jellal's turn to flinch now.

"I'M NOT DENSE YOU STUPID IDIOT! I SWEAR I WILL SIC AUQUARIUS ON YOU AND.."

Her voice faded away as Jellal tuned her out.

_Erza_

The last time he saw her was 7 years ago, when he was walking away, to his fate, without his memories. But now that he had his memories back, he wasn't sure he wanted them. He had hurt Erza and everyone else so much. It hurt. It really did hurt. He felt like he wanted to commit suicide every time he looked back through his thoughts and recalled what he had done to her.

Thinking about Erza and his dark past made him almost forget Lucy's enraged rambling, but not quite. He _still _had to plug his ears. Damn, that girl was _loud._ He couldn't understand why the idiot fire dragon slayer would fall for such and annoying girl. But, then again, Natsu _was _an idiot...

He was kind of tired of her scolding, so he tuned her back in and tried to calm her down.

"Alright, alright! I didn't mean it like that, so stop whining already."

Five minutes later, he had _finally _managed to calm her down.

"I'll get you some ice cream. Don't worry."

At the thought of ice cream her eyes lit up a bit.

"Maybe just a little.." she trailed off.

Meanwhile, the idiot duet of boys run around looking for a Lucy that will never show up...

Erza smiled again. This was going to be even more entertaining than she had thought.

You see, the entire plan rested on the fact that:

There was a big rock in the middle of the forest.

Erza could lift that rock

Mirajane was amazing at imitating Lucy

Those boys could run dang fast

The last one, however, was kind of a setback, though, as Mirajane could only keep this up for a while, even though she was amazing at throwing her voice.

Oh, and one more thing. There couldn't be anyone else in the forest with them. This plan would be ruined if someone found the spider silks.

But no one would, of course. She had searched the forest herself just thirty minutes before. Well, except for that one region. She brushed the thought off. Nobody would go over there, it was too riddled with problem roots and such. Then again...

The more she thought about it, though, the more she wanted to go and make herself certain that the prank would work. She had Cana hold down the fort, telling her that she would be back in three minutes.

"That's fine," said Cana, "but we better finish this in less than twenty minutes 'cuz I've got a couple of barrels I need to fin-" she was shut up by a glare from Erza.

"Just make sure the silk doesn't rip before I get back," she said, "and please, don't get too excited over _beer_."

Once out of Erza's earshot, Cana sighed and said something about strict people ruining everything.

Erza smiled. She heard that.

Meanwhile...

Gray had noticed something was wrong already. He was pretty sure Natsu hadn't, but he did.

He couldn't guarantee it, but it _sort of _felt like he was running in circles.

Natsu, however, had not stopped running. At all. Gray was pretty sure that the only thought going through his head at the moment was: _Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, Lucy... _and so on, and so on. It made Gray smile, when he thought about it.

And then Gray noticed something.

Every time they passed a certain tree in their circle, it kind of looked like...

No way. No way Erza would... But she _would, _wouldn't she.

_Crap, _thought Gray, _I'm in for it, now._

He decided to prepare himself for it now, and let Natsu be the one who was surprised. He grinned. Now it was a trick on Natsu.

Meanwhile...

Erza tried to pass through the branches as soundlessly as possible, but it wasn't working for her. Instead of sneaking through the forest like a black panther, she looked more like an elephant.

She finally caught her breath, and moved closer to the edge of a clearing. The sight that met her eyes shocked her.

There was a familiar man standing next to Lucy. He seemed to be failing at trying to calm her from her rage. Suddenly he looked her way, and her heart stopped.

"J-Jellal?"

* * *

AND NOOOOOOOOW, FOR THE CHARACTER'S OPINIONS!

Erza: Holy shit

Jellal: Holy crap

Lucy: Wha-

Natsu: Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, Lucy

Me: Looks like you were right, Gray...

Gray: Why yes, thank you

Cana: BEEEER!

Mirajane: Heeeeeeeeelp meeeeeeeeeeeeee Naaaaaaaaastuuuuuuuuuu! Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!


	4. Chapter 4

And now, we move on to the next chapter! What will happen next? Find out!

* * *

"Graaaaay!" yelled Natsu as he ran full speed around in a huge circle.

"What _is _it, Natsu?" Gray panted.

"I'm not sure that voice we're hearing is Lucy," he said, "because it doesn't smell like her!"

Gray stopped all of a sudden and tripped Natsu, stopping him, too.

_Noooooooooooooooooooooo, _thought Cana, _keep running, or don't notice what's going on around you so I can get to those barrels in the guild haaaaaalllll! It should be easy for you two, right?_

Gray looked at Natsu.

"And what," he smirked, "does Lucy smell like?"

"Vanilla."

_Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? _Gray thought, _he _actually _told me?_

Gray sat there, gaping at Natsu like a fish.

"What's that look for, Panties queen?" he insulted.

Then they started arguing again over who was the best insulter.

Which was a good thing for Cana.

Meanwhile...

"J-Jellal?"

Jellal's heart stopped.

He couldn't see anything else, but the red haired girl in front of him.

Lucy gaped, but decided to stay quiet. She wanted to be a _witness._

Erza's chin quivered, and she started bawling.

_Told you so, _Lucy thought.

Jellal could only guess what Lucy was thinking, but he correctly responded with: S_hut up._

Just standing there, seeing her cry, was more than he could handle. In a split second, he wrapped his arms around Erza and hugged her.

Erza pulled out of their embrace and looked at him.

He looked down back at her.

She hardened her eyebrows, and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Don't you _dare _try anything while Lucy is here," she whispered, glaring at him.

Oh. Jellal had forgotten about that.

He looked back at Lucy and wasn't that shocked, actually, to notice she was ogling at them with fish eyes. He sighed.

"Who cares?" he whispered back, "It's not like she's going to tell anyone, right?"

But Erza was prepared for that.

"Tell anyone _what_?" she asked innocently.

"That I broke out of jail."

Erza blinked, before morphing into a devil-like creature that Natsu like to call: The Scary Erza Face She Makes When She's Angry.

"YOU DID WHAT?" she screamed.

"I-I Uh, I, broke... out.. of … jail..."

She pushed him away, sending him flying.

"I thought you were going to be a good convict and spend your term in prison!" she said.

"Well, Erza, you forget that I was sentenced to death so I 'm pretty sure that I wasn't going to want to spend my 'term' in prison," he reasoned.

She stopped for a moment, and recomposed herself, but she was in shock.

"So they sentenced you to death, huh?" she said, her voice shaking a bit at 'death', "I don't think I heard that part of the conversation as you were leaving."

"Yes, at the time I was leaving, I wasn't sure what my sentence was, either," he said softly, "and I didn't have my memories, either."

Erza's eyes widened.

"S-so you- have your memories back?" she asked.

"Of course I do. And, Erza, the reason I came here wasn't so that I could see you, though that was important to me. The reason I came was-" he cut himself off, as he looked frantically around for the blonde celestial wizard.

"Where's Lucy?"

Meanwhile...

Lucy had _never_ felt so much pain. Not even when she was being controlled by that voodoo doll and Natsu set her on fire, that _jerk._

She was lying on a cold stone floor, and she could hear the trickle of water coming from somewhere. She couldn't open her eyes, yet, so she decided to play still knocked out and keep it that way. She recalled her last moments awake.

She actually hadn't noticed the hood coming over her head. How stupid! She could still smell the sickly-sweet odor and feel some of the drowsiness. And hell, her head hurt. She mentally bashed herself for not paying attention.

But then again... who would've been paying any attention? Seeing Jellal's puppy face when he saw Erza was almost to cute for her to handle.

And they hugged! She almost smiled. Then she realized the terrible situation she was in. She had forgotten that she was supposed to be on alert at all times, and she had failed.

Now she was captured by the enemy. She hated this, she really did.

Ever since the Phantom Lord guild had captured her and thought her useless, she had vowed never to get taken by the enemy ever again. But then again, getting saved by Natsu hadn't actually been that _bad..._

She felt her cheeks get hot, and she shook her head, hard.

Bad idea. She had just knocked _herself _out.

Meanwhile...

Gray and Natsu had been at it for a while, now, and they had come to the conclusion that _neither _was better.

And if I was going to list all of the insults that they used, I would have to change the rating on this story, so I'm not going to.

They were both breathing heavily from yelling. Gray felt the urgent need to take off his clothes, but then, he realized, he _had _none to take off.

He shrugged. Running around in his underwear was _fine _with him.

Natsu, however, had the urgent need to find whoever thought they sounded like Lucy, because they were wrong. They could never imitate her smell. It was just impossible.

Lucy was irreplaceable. That's all there was to it.

Natsu blushed furiously, and he stood up, still panting.

Wherever Lucy really was, he had the strangest feeling that she was in trouble.

"Come on, Gray," he said, his serious face on, "I know whoever is yelling for help isn't Lucy, but I have the feeling that she's in trouble."

Gray looked up at his rival. There was something different about him now. Gray smiled, and Natsu held a hand out to help him get up.

Gray avoided Natsu's hand, however, and started walking in a random direction. Natsu scowled, but followed him anyway.

It was then that Gray remembered what he thought Erza's trap was. He stopped all of a sudden, and Natsu, who wasn't paying attention, knocked right into him.

"Look where your going, Gray!" he yelled, angered.

"Natsu?" said Gray in a small voice.

"Yeah, Freeze-brain?" Natsu said back, holding his nose.

"Have you ever seen or heard of something called a Fire and Ice Spider, would you?"

Natsu shook his head. "Never."

Gray pointed to something huge rising out of the forest.

Natsu almost screamed.

"What _is _that thing?"

* * *

So, I hoped you like that chapter. Sorry for not updating sooner, I had a little bit of Writer's block, I think. Anyway, I should be updating anywhere in the next few days.

Pleas READ AND REVIEW! I LIKE SUGGESTIONS!


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey, guys!_

_I fixed my Doc Manager._

_I also fixed a couple of pet peeves I had about the story._

_Now, instead of: Meanwhile... _

_We will have the character's names who are present in capital, italicized letters, and a horizontal line. (I think it separates it so much better)_

_Thank you for the reviews!_

* * *

_ERZA AND JELLAL_

"Oh, no!" Erza cried, "Please punish me! It's my fault you were distracted! It's my fault that she's gone!"

Jellal hit her over the head.

"Shut up, silly. It's not anyone's fault. Our main objective is not to find who was responsible she was taken, it's to find her, and beat up whoever took her," he said.

"Jellal," said Erza, blushing her poor head off.

"Yeah?" he froze when he saw her facial expression. "And- uh- what did you mean when you said that I was distracted?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, "And-uh- _why _are you dressed up as Mystogan? Cosplay?"

Jellal almost choked. "W-well, I was, uh, _practicing._"

Practicing?

"Jellal, what are you planning?" Erza said as she grabbed his arms and looked at him seriously.

He blushingly ignored her, brushed her hands off him, and started walking along the clearing, examining the edges. He looked farther into the forest.

"You know," he said smiling, "she could actually be video taping this."

Erza wasn't paying attention to what he was saying at the particular moment, though.

"Hey," she said, "were you serious earlier? Do you really have your memories back?"

He stopped bending and looking through the trees and stood up, staring away from her.

"I-" An image of a crying Erza flashed through his mind. It was the day he had been possessed. He had just told her to leave and never come back. She was heartbroken.

Another image of her. This time, she was older, they were in the Tower of Heaven. He had just pushed her into the lacrima and she was struggling with her bonds.

"_You know, Erza, I really did love you."_

"I think we should talk about this later, Erza. Lucy could be out there in trouble, and I really don't want to hurt you anymore by letting her die or get hurt. I hope- I really hope you understand," Jellal said hoarsely.

Erza understood.

"Okay," she whispered.

She took his hand wordlessly and they walked into the forest, calling out Lucy's name.

* * *

_LUCY_

Lucy's heart was beating faster than it had ever beat before. She had already mentally beat herself for knocking herself out again, but she still felt terrible. She couldn't explain why, but she felt like something was squeezing her from the inside. She felt a terrible, powerful magic in the place with her, and all she wished was that Erza and Jellal had left and gotten away.

She wasn't even sure if Jellal, Erza, Natsu, Gray, and herself could stop this magic. That's what he had told her, though.

_FLASHBACK_

_Lucy Heartfilia scanned the merchandise at the local magic shop. Sighing, she turned and met a sight that shocked her._

"_Mystogan!" she yelled._

_Indeed, a bandaged man in a blue-black cloak with a strange mask was walking down the street. He turned towards her._

_And then she realized it. This man wasn't Mystogan. He was someone else._

_She wordlessly walked over to him and pulled his arm over to an alleyway._

"_You aren't really Mystogan, and don't try to convince me, because I know it," she said, her voice cold as steel._

_She then told him how Mystogan was actually the Edo of the Jellal of their world. The man flinched when she said 'Jellal'._

_Lucy smiled. She was a lot smarter than some people gave her credit for._

"_Well," said the man, "I guess when seven years passes it can really change a lot."_

_Lucy snorted. "You aren't the only one going through being gone for seven years, Jellal."_

_He flinched again, hearing his name. _How did she know it was him? _he thought._

"_I'm a lot smarter than I look, Fernandez," she said with a grin, "People don't give me enough credit sometimes."_

_Jellal removed his mask and looked down and the blonde celestial wizard._

"_We need to talk," he said gravely._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

Lucy thought about the situation she was in, and decided it might be a better idea to stop pretending to be a faithful little captive who stayed where she was.

Lucy opened her eyes. As soon as she did, she wished she had closed them.

Her scream echoed throughout the cavernous region she was trapped in.

* * *

_NATSU, GRAY, CANA, AND A BIG, FAT …_

Natsu gulped. Gray gulped. Then they started shrieking and hugged each other.

No, Erza was not standing in front of them with her sword drawn. It was much, much, worse.

Right in front of their very eyes, was a gigantic spider. Gray was freaked. This thing was the size of their entire new guild hall. Times _two._

It was a huge spider that looked like a black widow, except it's spot was black. Half of it's body was bluish white, and the other half was bright red.

"I read about that, once," said Cana, coming from nowhere, "Looks like you boys are really in for it."

The boys turned to where she was, but she was gone. Her job was done. Even though Erza hadn't returned when she said she would, Cana had decided to finish the boys' 'lesson' for her. Frankly, she was bored, and she had a couple of barrels of beer waiting for her.

She left the boys to fend for themselves, thinking of how much Gildharts would laugh hysterically if he was watching them.

* * *

_NATSU, GRAY, AND THE- WEIRDLY COLORED BLACK WIDOW_

"!" screamed Natsu.

He started to scram, but Gray grabbed his scarf and made Natsu's butt skid on the forest floor.

"Wait," he said, looking at the monster intently.

Natsu looked at the ice mage like he was completely and utterly nuts.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING HERE FOR? THAT THING IS FREAKING HUGE! I DON'T WANNA FIGHT IT! LET'S GO GET GRAMPS!"

Whoah. _Natsu was scared?_

Gray grinned evilly. He had the perfect idea for getting Natsu back for calling him the 'Underwear Queen of Ice'.

"Oh, looks like I forgot to tell you, Natsu," Gray sighed like he actually cared. "It seems like Gramps actually had to go to a council meeting today. He told me to tell you that-" Gray leaned in to Natsu's ear and whispered something else to him.

Natsu's entire head turned bright red.

"ALL RIGHT, YOU CREEPY SPIDER! YOU'RE GOIN' DOWN! YOU WANNA KNOW WHY? 'CUZ _I'M ALL FIRED UP__!" _Natsu yelled at the huge monster.

Gray grinned yet again. This was going to be even more fun than he had expected.

He sat back and watched the fun, waiting until it was his time to strike.

"FIRE DRAGON _!" _screamed Natsu, flames shooting out of his mouth.

The flames flew up and hit the it. Then the creepy spider did something weird.

It absorbed the flames entirely.

Natsu stopped dead in his victory dance tracks. He turned to Gray.

"What the hell am I supposed to do, when you're just sittin' on your ass?"

Gray sat up, irritated. "Hey, if you wanted help, you could've asked me, you numbskull."

"It _swallowed _my _fire,_ Gray," Natsu snapped, "You try doing something to it!"

Just then the spider decided it didn't like bickering, and had waited long enough to kill the two annoying humans.

It kind of looked like Nirvana, as it took one, mighty step, right to where the ice mage and the dragon slayer were arguing.

"Crap!" yelled Natsu.

"Crap!" yelled Gray.

They both dodged out of the way as one of the white legs slammed into the ground, just where they had been standing, seconds before. The dirt on the forest floor flew up, blinding both Natsu, and Gray. The twigs and the trees were torn up into bits.

_Dammit! _They both thought at the same time.

Just then, they heard the screams of a girl.

And that girl sounded like Lucy.

* * *

Alright! Thanks for reading! Please review also!

AND NOW, FOR THE CHARACTER'S OPINIONS!

Natsu: Shit

Gray: Shit

Cana: Yuuuuuuum

Lucy: WTH

Jellal: _Erza is holding my hand, Erza is holding my hand, Erza is holding my hand..._

Erza: Where is Lucy? She better not be on a date.

Me: You are all so messed up. :(


	6. Chapter 6

_If you guys have been wondering what happened to Happy, that is answered in this chapter._

_Why Lisanna is in the summary is revealed._

_I'll get to Gajeel later.._

_Anyway, we're just getting started with the plot, I have it all planned out._

* * *

_ERZA AND JELLAL_

Jellal was sweating his head off. Erza. Was. Holding. His. Hand. He felt a bit faint all of a sudden.

_Get a hold of yourself, Jellal! _He told himself.

They had been searching the forest for a while, now, with no luck, when Erza suddenly dropped Jellal's hand and face palmed.

_Man, _he thought, _I was finally starting to get used to that... sigh. _(Sighs with him. "It's okay, Jellal")

He didn't dwell on himself too long, though. Erza looked like she needed some help.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"I've forgotten about something important," she groaned. She sighed and decided to explain the situation to Jellal when he gave her a questioning look.

"I came up with an idea that would make Natsu and Gray finally realize that they worked great as a team, and I was supposed to be back by now! Oh, and I left Cana and Mira to fend for themselves! They're probably cursing my name right now!"

Jellal looked at her hard.

"Explain," was all he told her.

Startled by his tone, she pulled back a moment, but slowly she began to tell him about the way she had set it so that the boys would have to fight a large Fire and Ice Spider, in which there was only one way to defeat. They had to work together.

Jellal sighed with relief. Well at _least _it wasn't what he had thought.

"That's good," he muttered under his breath.

"And Jellal," Erza said. It was her turn to speak with a commanding tone, now. "I think you're hiding something from me, and I want to know what it is."

He looked down at her. She had that determined look on her face. Jellal smiled, thinking about better times, and his eyes softened.

But before he could tell her everything he wanted so desperately to get off his chest, he heard a ripping sound, like something was tearing the roots of entire trees right out of the ground.

"Erza!"

Sensing the oncoming danger, Jellal grabbed Erza and jumped out of the way, just as a large, flaming red, hairy, giant spider leg came crashing down right where they had been standing. (Dang, that spider has great aim, doesn't he?)

CRASH!

Jellal opened his eyes, and blinked, coughing dust up as he did so. He was lying on his back. There was something heavy on him.

His eyes widened quite a bit when he saw what was on him.

Well _this _was awkward.

* * *

_HAPPY AND LISANNA_

"Come on, Happy, we have to go faster, or we won't make it in time!" whispered a very scared Lisanna.

Happy panted as he carried Lisanna's weight. For some reason, whenever he carried someone other than Natsu, they just seemed so _heavy. _But there was no way in hell he was going to tell Lisanna that. He preferred to be alive, and not dead.

They had been flying over the ocean for some time, now, and Happy was beat and worried. It was nearly evening, and at some point, Elfman and Mirajane were both going to notice their little sister was missing.

"I don't know if I can carry you much longer, Lisanna. I'm getting sleepy and my transformation won't last long!" the blue exceed said, worried.

"But you _have _to," she said, bawling, "If you don't, then- then-"

Lisanna couldn't hold it anymore. She started crying her poor heart out.

Happy tried to console her, but it wasn't working. She was beyond his help. He doubted if even _Natsu_ tried to calm her down, he would fail.

But that was only because what Lisanna was going through was something bigger than something Natsu could imagine and understand. Bigger than her whole guild, even.

It involved the entire earth, and it was at stake.

All because of her.

* * *

_NATSU AND GRAY_

Where did that scream come from?

Was it really Lucy, or was it her impersonator?

And _where _exactly did Cana go?

Did Cana take his clothes?

These were the questions and thoughts that were running through Gray's mind.

Natsu's, however, were slightly different.

WHERE DID THAT SCREAM COME FROM?

WAS IT LUCY? _WAS IT LUCY?_

WHERE DID THAT DAMN IMPOSTOR GO?

HOW THE HELL WAS HE GOING TO FIND LUCY AND KILL THE FREAKING SPIDER AT THE SAME TIME?

On the other hand, they both _said _the same thing.

"LUCY! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Hearing no answer but one of the spider's foot slamming into the ground, Gray decided something for both him, and Natsu.

They were going to kill that damn spider.

Not because it was annoying, but because Gray had noticed something crucial.

The spider seemed to be blocking their exit out of the forest. And, even worse, it was heading toward the guild hall.

"Natsu," he said.

Natsu was too busy insulting the spider to notice him.

Gray rolled his eyes, and tried again.

"Natsu!"

No response from the pink-headed, yelling, Natsu.

Gray, fed up now, grabbed Natsu's scarf yet again, and pulled his head to his mouth so he could hear him.

"NATSUUU!" he yelled.

"OWWW, Ice cream princess! Shut your freaking yap up, and get my attention before you start yelling in my freaking ear!" yelled the infuriated dragon slayer.

"If you were paying any attention in the _first _place, I wouldn't _have _to yell, you idiot!" said Gray.

Natsu glared at Gray, pouted, and asked him what he wanted to _say._

_Good, _Gray thought, _now I have his attention. _Finally.

"Natsu, I think this spider here has something to do with Lucy's scream just now."

Now he _really _had his attention.

"And why would you say that?" yapped Natsu.

"Well, I just noticed that it seemed that there was a screaming sound right before the spider would stomp."

Natsu's eyes widened. "So you think that the spider stomped on her?"

Gray face palmed. What and _idiot._

He sighed. But if this was what he was going to have to work with, so be it.

"No, you _idiot,_" he said. "I meant that maybe she could see the spider, so she screamed, and so the spider tried to stop anyone from hearing her!"

Well, it was a stupid cover up, but maybe it would work.

"So you're saying," said Natsu, standing up taller and staring hard at the ground, "that the spider is holding her captive?" He then glared up at the giant spider like it was nothing but an ant.

No, not _exactly, _but that might work.

"But don't just try to attack him out of the blue!" said Gray, pulling Natsu back, "I have a plan, and there's only one way to kill this monster, and get our Lucy back."

Natsu started to nod, but then he turned and looked sharply at Gray.

"_Our _Lucy?"

_Dammit, _thought Gray. Then he thought of the perfect comeback.

"What, you weren't thinking anything perverted about her being _yours _were you?" he said with a sly grin on his face.

"NOO! Of _course _not!" yelled Natsu.

"Then are you ready to take this thing down with me?" said Gray. He was starting to get why Erza had done this in the first place. Truthfully, it made him smile.

"Sure."

He wasn't sure Natsu had gotten it yet.

"Then listen to what I have to say."

Gray motioned Natsu to him and whispered something to him.

Natsu grinned.

"_Now _I get it! Then let's go, Ice girl."

Gray rolled his eyes yet again, but he agreed.

They needed to do this soon, or else both Lucy and the guild hall would be..

And _Juvia _was in there.

He didn't want to even think about it.

* * *

Anyway, there you have it!

Thank you for reading, and please Review! Remember: I LOVE SUGGESTIONS!


	7. Chapter 7

_Here's the next chapter!_

_By the way, this chapter is _nothing _compared to what I have in store for the next chapter!_

* * *

_ERZA AND JELLAL (4ever ;P)_

"Uh, Erza?"

Jellal was laying on his back on the ground. The dust from the spider attack had settled a little more, but he still had to breath carefully.

Something heavy was on him.

It was Erza.

She hadn't moved yet. Well, he couldn't _blame _her exactly.

Because, well, he had, uh, kinda, uh, wrapped his arms, uh, around her. (Poor Jellal.. LOL)

Erza lifted up her head. She blinked a couple of times, then realized the position she was in. Her eyes widened, and she stared into Jellal's dark eyes.

"What just happened?" she asked.

Jellal looked to his left, then his right, then his left, then his right, then his left, and so on, and so on.

"I-well- I, uh, the spider thing stepped right where we were standing so I- uh- had to get you out of the way before it crushed you."

Erza raised her eyebrows and pushed herself off of Jellal's chest. She stood up, staring away from him. Jellal didn't notice why, but it was because her entire head was red now, not just her hair.

"So that's what happened. Hmmm. So you didn't think I could save _myself_?" she said.

_Um, well, maybe? _Thought Jellal.

"Anyway," she said, in her 'back to business' voice, "I don't know where that spider is, but I do know that we can't defeat it. The only ones who can are Natsu and Gray. And it's not even a big problem, really. I made sure Gray knew about them. It's _Natsu _I'm worried about."

Jellal grunted and got up from where he was laying. He pushed his hand on the tree next to Erza, leaning over her. She kept on staring straight ahead, unmoving.

_Keep yourself together, _she thought to herself.

"So, if Gray is there, they'll be fine, won't they?" he said.

Erza's eyebrows furrowed. "Hopefully. However there's a bigger problem we have."

Jellal sighed. "And what would that be?"

Erza turned her head skyward and looked up at him.

"Lucy is gone, and I don't know where she is. I feel it's my responsibility as her team mate to ensure her safety."

He took his hand away from the tree by her and put them in his pockets. (_By this time he had taken of Mystogan's bandages and cloak. They would get in the way of a fight._)"Yes, there's that. And also the fact that there's an even bigger problem that involves a lot more than her. We need to find her and then work on this bigger problem." His face hardened as he said the last sentence.

"And what would that be?" asked Erza as she lifted her eyebrows out of their furrow.

"I'll tell you, but you have to promise me that you won't interfere with what I have to do. I want you to have faith in me, and trust my decisions."

"Sure."

_Of course, you dummy, I've _always_ had faith in you._

* * *

_NATSU AND GRAY_

This wasn't going well.

Gray had thought that, if both of them attacked the spider, it would work. However, the spider just swallowed both of their attacks, one after the other.

"Ice make: LANCE!" yelled Gray, as he sent huge shards of ice lances at the red part of the spider.

Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe Natsu finally had some revelation, but he made an attack at the white part of the spider at the same time as Gray made his attack.

"Fire Dragon IRON FIST!" he screamed and punched the spider. (EEEEEE! (I adore Todd Haberkorn's scream when he does Natsu)

A huge explosion occurred afterward.

The trees were blown almost flat to the ground, and the earth shook. Natsu materialized next to Gray, and they both hugged onto a tree, attempting to stop themselves from being blown away by the blast.

* * *

_LUCY_

Lucy covered her mouth to stop her scream.

_Calm down, _she thought, _it went down a minute ago, you don't have to worry about it anymore._

She had been covering her mouth for a while, now. The thing she had seen was _disgusting._

It was, like, this _huge _hairy, red spider leg.

It was just visible out of the crack in the stone wall that she was encased it.

The room she was in couldn't be more than six feet long, and two feet wide.

No. It couldn't be. Was she in a _coffin_?

Was she _dead_?

Lucy face palmed at her stupidity. Of course she wasn't _dead_! She was _breathing_!

Her head still hurt, though, so she fell back onto the cold floor.

It really felt like she was in a coffin, though, a _stone _coffin. Maybe it would be more interesting if she was in a glass coffin. Yeah, like Snow White.

And of course Snow White was saved by her prince and-

_Sigh._

* * *

_HAPPY AND LISANNA_

Despite Happy's constant whining, they had actually managed to make it to the island before midnight.

However, he was exhausted.

Lisanna got that, though. She understood being pushed to the limit. As she and happy laid down on the beach, she got caught up in the memories of why she was sent to this island in the first place.

_FLASHBACK_

"_Don't do it, Lisanna," said Gajeel._

_Levy glared at him._

"_Gajeel, do you think she wants to? She has to, and, I really wish I could do it instead, but-" she started crying._

_Gajeel backtracked _really _quickly._

"_Uh, Levy, d-don't cry! S-stop cryin' right now or I'll- I'll."_

"_You'll _what_?" asked the now irritated Lisanna._

_She was tired, and Gajeel's snide comments were making her mad. She had been going at this spell for a while, now, but the black wound didn't heal at all._

_Levy composed herself, and straightened her back, her glasses, and her face._

"_Lisanna, it doesn't look like your getting anywhere, and we really need to get rid of that wound quickly," she said._

_Lisanna sighed, not really willing to let anyone else risk themselves for her sake. But then she felt herself get faint from the pressure of the spell._

"_I can't-" she didn't finish, and Levy caught her. She sighed._

_They had been at this for an hour now, and the black wound on Lisanna's arm hadn't healed at all. They were in a cavern, far below the earth, underneath the forest by the guild hall. The only light was a small candle that Levy was holding._

_She furrowed her small brow and looked at Gajeel. They didn't know it yet, but Lisanna had just recovered from being unconscious, and was listening to them._

"_If something goes wrong, I want you to take Lisanna and get out of here." she said with a serious face._

_Gajeel squinted his eyes. "Fine." he said._

No way in hell, _he thought._

_Levy's eyes softened, and she started chanting the spell that Lisanna had failed to. This time, it looked like it was working._

_Suddenly, Lisanna's wound disappeared. The blackness left her, and flowed around in the cave._

_Unfortunately, it headed toward Levy._

_Lisanna's eyes shot open as she felt the blackness leave her._

"_LEVY!"_

* * *

_Hahah, I'm so evil!_

AND NOW, FOR THE CHARACTER'S OPINIONS!

Natsu: I just kicked that spider's _ass, _I did!

Gray: _You _kicked it's ass? _I _was the one that did all the work!

Me: Shut up, you two! Your ruining the angst in the air.


	8. Chapter 8

Nothing special to say here, except that we have some Jerza comin' up!

* * *

_CONTINUED FROM LISANNA'S FLASHBACK_

"_LEVY! NO!" cried Lisanna._

_But Gajeel was faster._

_He knocked both of them aside and shielded them from the black blast with his arms outstretched._

"_GAJEEL!" screamed Levy, struggling to untangle herself with Lisanna._

_But it was already too late._

_Gajeel was completely consumed by the darkness and disappeared._

"_NOOOOO!" cried Levy, tears streaming down her cheeks, "That IDIOT!"_

_Lisanna cried, too. There was only one question that hung in the air._

_What just happened to Gajeel?_

_ERZA AND JELLAL_

"No," Erza said with finality.

Jellal furrowed his brow.

"But you said-"

"I _know _what I said, and my answer is _NO_!" she yelled., as she grabbed his shirt and pulled it so he would listen to her.

"Why not?" Jellal asked her, "It's not like I _won't _come back alive!"

Erza struggled to hold back tears. She would _not _allow him to do what he just said he would do.

Other than being stupid, Jellal had explained the situation to her quite nicely.

After he had broken out of jail, he had sensed some sort of black and bad magic. He wasn't sure what it was, or even _who _is was from, but he knew it was detrimental. And when he investigated it, he figured out the real, underlying reason this magic had made it's way to Magnolia.

It was out to destroy their entire earth by obtaining and using Fairy Tail's magic.

And then Jellal had told her his plan. He intended to trap the magic into and object and obliterate that object.

When Erza asked him what object he was going to use, he wouldn't tell her, so she forbade him to do something that dangerous.

"You can't because-" she was cut off before she could say anything more.

Because at that particular moment, the blast from Natsu and Gray's attack hit Jellal full on. Erza managed to keep her footing, but Jellal wasn't ready.

He was pushed forward with the blast.

Erza's eyes widened as his lips smashed into hers rather painfully.

_NATSU AND GRAY_

The aftermath of the explosion was an experience in itself.

Natsu didn't even know that much dust _existed_ in this damn forest.

He let go of the tree, and brushed himself off, trying not to breath in the stupid dust. He looked up to where the spider was a minute before. Sure enough, it was gone.

Not waiting for Gray, Natsu walked over the debris and to where the bulk of the spider had been.

Sure enough, there was a very large crater. It looked like, as soon as both Gray and Natsu's attacks had hit it, it had self destructed. Natsu smiled. It was exactly as he had planned.

It seemed that Natsu was, like Lucy, a lot smarter than other people gave him credit for. He had noticed that the spider would absorb either one of their attacks by itself, but it would dodge whenever they accidentally attacked at the same time.

When Natsu saw this, he realized that maybe that was the spider's weakness.

He thought about what his weakness would be... Uh, duh, _motion sickness._

What about Erza? Lucy?- Wait- Lucy was in trouble! How could he have forgotten this quickly?

He wracked his brain to remember where he had last heard her scream.

_Ah! It was from the middle of the forest! That's it!_ He thought.

He ran off in that direction.

When he came to the middle of the forest, there was a big stone thing in the middle of a clearing. Curious, Natsu came closer.

_LUCY AND NATSU_

Lucy swore at herself. She had forgotten to check if she had her keys.

She had dropped them, of course. She could only _imagine _what kind of punishment Auquarius was going to give her when she got them back. That is, if she ever did.

And then, her spirits lifted. Was that-

She could hear Natsu now, he was coming toward her little prison. She desperately needed him to get there faster.

"Natsu!" she screamed.

Natsu ran faster to the stone block. Was it him, or did it sound like Lucy's scream was coming from _inside_ the block?

He heard her scream again. Now, he was certain. Lucy was trapped inside of there.

And he was going to get her out if it took all he had.

"I'm coming, Lucy!" he yelled.

He finally reached the stone block where Lucy was.

"Help me, Natsu! I'm in this coffin!"

Coffin? With a live girl in it? Wasn't there some sort of princess story about that? Subconsciously Natsu wracked his brain to figure out what that story was called.

On his conscious side, however, Natsu was desperately wracking his brain to figure out a way to get Lucy out of the damn coffin.

And how did she eve get _in _here? Did someone stuff her through that little hole in the side? Natsu seriously doubted that. He smirked, then mentally beat himself with a big hammer.

_DON'T MAKE FUN OF HER WHEN SHE'S IN TROUBLE, YOU JERK! _He screamed at himself.

"I-I know that!" he stuttered, "I'm just trying to find a way to get you out."

Lucy looked at him through her little peephole. It looked more like he was trying to find out how someone got her in there.

She sighed, reminding herself that this _was _Natsu she was thinking about. Wait a second, was she _thinking _about _Natsu_?

She'd practically given up on him!

Meanwhile Natsu was trying to come up with a way to completely obliterate the coffin without completely obliterating Lucy. Not surprisingly, it was rather difficult for him.

And then it hit him. The best idea _ever_.

He grinned, and began work chipping at the hole.

"Ouch, you _idiot_!" shrieked Lucy, "That was my _eye_!"

"Oh, sorry, Lucy! I'm just getting you out, here!"

He moved swiftly along the coffin, hitting it hard at key points along the edge. After a few minutes of silence, he was done. The coffin had a lot of cracks on it in intricate patterns.

"Okay, Luce, you ready?"

"Ready for _what, _exactly?"

"This!" cried Natsu, as he stuck his arms right into the coffin, shattering the lid and grabbing Lucy.

He picked her up and held her in his arms since she was weak.

"Wow, the sun sure is way too bright!" complained Lucy.

"That's it!" said Natsu, out of the blue.

"What?" she demanded.

"Snow White!" he said.

Lucy's eyes widened. Maybe she _hadn't _given up after all.

"That's the name of that fairy tale that I was trying to remember!"

_Then again, _Lucy thought, sighing.

* * *

Thank you for readin!

Tell me what you think! PLEASE REVIEW! I LIKE REVIEWS! THEY MAKE ME FEEL SPECIAL!

LOL XD


	9. Chapter 9

Hello! Just so you know, I don't upload on the weekends because I have research to do and anime to watch. I also write then.

Anyway, I can't wait until the preview for Mark of Athena comes out, allthough I know that the preview chapter probably won't be the one everyone wants it to be.

Oh, and FAIRY TAIL episode 130 came out and it's awesome! Favorite line: "Over my dead body!" was one that Natsu said after the evil people said they were going to capture Lucy. HAHA it was cute.

* * *

_ERZA AND JELLAL_

The blast had Jellal so hard he had crashed into Erza and found his lips smashing into hers.

However, even with the ending of the dust and debris forcefully blowing Jellal towards her, the kiss hadn't stopped.

Not by a long shot.

After about thirty seconds, though, they both realized that they had forgotten to breathe.

Jellal pulled out of the kiss, panting. He looked away to his right.

"S-sorry. I wasn't looking where I was falling and I-"

Erza put her hands around his neck, effectively getting his attention. He stared at her.

"Quit it with the excuses. You wanted to do that." she said, stating the obvious.

"I-" Jellal protests were cut off when Erza closed the space in between them again and kissed him, full on the lips.

He wrapped his arms around her waist.

They broke apart, and their foreheads were barely touching.

Jellal had a nagging voice in the back of his head. It was saying something about evil magic that he had to take care of.

Erza was in heaven. Even though they had been walking all night, the feeling of Jellal's lips on hers made her want to give someone some of her strawberry shortcake. And _that_ was rare for her.

The sun came up, so it seemed like only their silhouettes were visible.

Maybe the evil magic could wait for a bit...

* * *

_HAPPY_

When Happy awoke from his less-than-comfortable night on the beach, his travel companion was nowhere in sight. Instead he was left with a strange note. It said in Lisanna's handwriting:

_Happy,_

_Thank you for taking me to the island._

_Go back to the guild, now, I'll be fine._

_Don't tell Levy where we went, okay?_

_Goodbye,_

_Lisanna_

"Well that sucks," said Happy, "I was going to ask her if she would help me prank Natsu when we got back."

He took off, leaving the beach after he had brushed the sand off himself.

But he had no intention of keeping quiet about Lisanna's disappearance.

* * *

_NATSU, LUCY, AND.. WE SHALL SEE WHO..._

"So," said Lucy, bumping up and down on Natsu's back as he ran through the forest towards the guild, "Did you find out who captured me?"

Natsu stopped running all of a sudden and goggled at her. "You were _captured_?"

"Well, _duh_!" she yelled. "Did you think I let someone just stuff me in there?"

Natsu gulped. That's almost exactly what he had been thinking. That she had gone nuts, or something.

"Um, no. J-just forget I said anything."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Fine."

Natsu continued on in silence until Lucy got too uncomfortable with the lack of noise.

She couldn't stand it anymore. She had questions and she wanted _answers. Now._

"Natsu," she asked. "Why did you come looking for me? How did you hear me from so far away? The place where that spider had gotten beaten was at least a mile away!"

Natsu didn't say anything for a while, and right before Lucy was ready to go bonkers from suspense, he made his response.

"You scream loud."

_Well _thanks, she thought furiously.

Lucy blinked. "Whaaaaaaaat? How _dare _you insult me like that?" she said, waving her arms and legs, struggling with Natsu's hold on her.

"Stop that, already! Dammit, you want me to drop you?" Natsu yelled.

But he was smiling.

And so was someone else.

Mirajane, Fairy Tail's unofficial top swimsuit model (much to Lucy's despair), was hiding behind a tree and watching the two loud wizards have a battle of words. Specifically loud words.

_Fairy Tail's loudest couple, _she thought with glee.

* * *

_GRAY_

Gray Fullbuster woke up with a large knot on the back of his head.

He looked to his left and saw that he was holding onto a large tree. He probably knocked his head on that. He scanned the forest around him.

It was morning now? Had the spider blowing up knocked them out for _that _long?

And where the hell was Natsu?

He must have left Gray and run off to save Lucy.

Well, that was expected of him...

Gray began wandering the woods, not really sure where he was. Maybe it was dumb luck, or maybe fate, but Gray, being as disoriented as he was, began walking the direction opposite of where Fairy Tail was.

And that's when he saw them.

Gray blinked.

He went ahead and blinked again, for the heck of it.

_Well well, _thought Gray, with an evil grin on his face. _That's where Erza ran off to._

And when did _he _get here, anyway? Gray shrugged. It wasn't his problem. He turned to walk away.

And then Gray almost lost it when he saw Lucy's video camera laying on the ground.

He picked it up.

* * *

_LISANNA_

Lisanna couldn't stop running. She _had _to keep going, or else everyone at Fairy Tail would die.

She sped through the jungle on the large island. She hoped Happy had actually paid attention to the instructions that she had put on her note. At least, she honestly was going to murder Happy if she survived this and discovered he had disobeyed. But she was so worried about him at the moment that she probably would just squeeze him and tell him how much she had missed him.

It would be almost like their first reunion after Edolas.

Lisanna shook her head. She couldn't get distracted when it was so important that she stay focused.

"Hey, where do you think your goin'?"

Lisanna's head whirled to where the voice had come from. Was it just her, or did that voice sound like..

"Wh-who are you?" she demanded, still looking for the owner of the voice.

"Lisanna," said the voice. It sounded like it was making tsking sounds. "You should know who I am. I mean, it was only _yesterday _that you thought I was dead."

_No way, _Lisanna thought, panicking.

"Gajeel? Is that you?"

"Ah, so you _do _recognize me," said the metal dragon slayer as he stepped out from behind a tree and into the light.

_How did he get here?_ Thought Lisanna.

As if he could read her mind, Gajeel said, "I was transported to this island as soon as that black magic came into me."

Lisanna's eyes widened. She was sweating hard now, but she couldn't figure out why.

Then she realized it.

This didn't seem like the Gajeel she knew.

He seemed different.

Evil.

"So, Gajeel," Lisanna swallowed. "Are you going to be coming back to Fairy Tail with me?"

Gajeel grinned.

_Why does something feel so wrong_?thought Lisanna.

"I don't think that's possible, Lisanna. It just so happens that I don't want anyone to discover this island."

"S-so you-" Gajeel cut Lisanna off.

"You have two options right now," he growled. "You can either stay here on the island and help me complete it," He grinned wider when he saw her expression of complete shock.

"Or, you can attempt to go tattle to Markarov and have me chase you down."

Lisanna quivered where she was standing. If she didn't make her decision quick here, she was dead meat. She knew that Gajeel was much more powerful than she was, and with that black magic inside of him it would just make him stronger.

"So," prompted Gajeel. "What's it gonna be?"

Lisanna gulped.

* * *

Thanks for reading! The second part of reading is reviewing! Please review with some suggestions, too!

AND NOOOOOOOOOWWW FOR THE CHARACTER'S OPINIONS!

Gray: I am gonna get _sooo _much money!

Natsu: She's_ heavy!_

Lucy: My keys! Oh, my god, where are my keys!

Jellal: (He can't really say anything at this point in time)

Erza: (Neither can she)

Mirajane: KAWAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

Markarov: You should review.

Lisanna: (Agrees) But get me out of my situation right here, it's a little troublesome.

Gajeel: (Evilness) MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Me: I should stop letting you guys voice your opinions. Gray is only focused on blackmailing at the moment, Natsu's thinking about stupid stuff, Jellal and Erza aren't even voicing anything but... (grins) Mirajane is obsessed in cute things, Markarov's just trying to get out of it, Lisanna doesn't really care if anyone reviews, she's just a bit creeped out at the moment, and Gajeel is laughing at me! The ONLY person who actually has any sense right now is Lucy! She's worried about her keys! (As she should)

Lucy: Wait, who cares if I have my keys if I'm with Natsu? OMG that sounded weird! (hits herself)

Me: Sigh. Are _any _of you sane?


	10. Chapter 10

_KONICHIWA!_

_Can't wait to finish the next chapter, but you go ahead and enjoy._

_By the way... I accidentally misspelled Makarov's name and my spellcheck didn't catch it._

_Note to self: It's Makarov, not Markarov!_

_XD_

* * *

_ERZA, JELLAL, AND GRAY_

Gray grinned, hardly holding in the urge to jump for complete joy. Erza would never be able to threaten him ever again. Thoughts of blackmail circled Gray's mind. He forgot about all else.

He pressed the 'on' button on the camera.

Nothing happened.

"Damn!" Gray yelled aloud, only to cover his mouth and shrink behind a nearby rock.

Erza and Jellal jumped apart in surprise and swiveled their heads towards where Gray was.

_Crap._

"Um-" Erza caught herself and blushed furiously. Had someone _seen _them?

Jellal's eyes where bugging out as he saw a bit of Gray's black hair peek from behind a rock.

"Gray?" Jellal whispered to Erza. She nodded and narrowed her eyes at the figure in question.

Suddenly, without thinking, Gray jumped up with a look of being terrified as he saw Erza's face, and ran like the dickens as fast as he could.

"Curse him! We have to catch him, or else the whole guild will know- that your out of jail, of course!" Erza yelled in distress.

_You sure it's that? _Thought Jellal.

"Uh, yeah," Jellal cleared throat awkwardly. "Well, let's get moving."

They both ran after the frantic Gray. He had a head start on them, but Erza was determined. Even though Erza and Jellal had no sleep or rest in their systems, they would catch that loudmouth before he said too much. It didn't matter how much noise they made. Erza would _catch _that daredevil.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" She screamed. "GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!"

_Like I'm gonna go back when you say it that way, _thought Gray as he ran barefoot through the forest. He looked quite humorous there, running terrified while in his underwear.

Jellal saw Erza tiring a bit, probably because of her fatigue. Jellal wasn't affected as much by that, though, so he ran on ahead, pushing past branches as he went.

He was catching up. Five more feet and he would be caught up.

Four feet.

Three feet.

Two feet.

One.

Jellal tackled Gray, sending them both falling to the ground.

Gray groaned under Jellal's weight. They were both laying on the dirt, by a rather big tree.

"Get ooooff me!" he yelled, struggling.

Jellal glared at him. "Not until you promise not to say a word about me being out of jail."

Gray's eyes widened. Then he started laughing uncontrollably.

"_That's _what you're worried about? I just saw you _making out_ with _Erza _and your worried about people knowing you're out of jail? We've suspected that for _weeks, _you know!"

Jellal blinked. He started to get irritated. "Look, I don't know who you think you are, but you need to keep your mouth shut."

By this time, Erza had caught up with them. She looked at Gray, an evil aura surrounding her.

"Gray," she said, her voice cold as ice, "You'll keep quiet about what you saw, _right_?"

She had asked a question, but it sounded more like a command. Like always.

Gray whimpered. Then he noticed something. Erza was wearing regular clothes. Like, with no armor.

He blinked a couple of times in shock.

"Uh, Erza? Where's your armor?"

"I decided it was getting in the way." she eyed Jellal.

At that Gray finally squirmed out of Jellal grasp. He ran screaming and covering his eyes.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! LOVEBIRDSSSS!" (LOL, Gray)

Erza rolled her eyes. "He totally misunderstood what I was saying."

Jellal nodded. Suddenly the fatigue of having no sleep, and then running hard after someone who had hit him. He slumped against the tree he was sitting by, snoring.

Erza's eyes softened as she watched him sleeping. She soon felt the lack of sleep hit her, also, and she leaned against the tree next to him, sleeping soundly.

The decision to let Gray run was unanimous.

_LISANNA AND GAJEEL_

Lisanna thought of all her friends at Fairy Tail. Levy, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Natsu... And her siblings, too. She knew Gajeel was being controlled by something, probably that black magic that she had also been controlled by. Then she remembered it.

The reason she was able to overcome that and get Levy's help, was by hurting someone she didn't want to on the inside.

That person was Lucy.

Lisanna remembered how she couldn't control the black power that was taking over her, and she remembered how pitiful Lucy had looked, laying on the ground. Her last words, as she lay there, helplessly on the ground.

'Natsu.' she had whispered.

Lisanna remembered watching as Natsu had run over to her, calling her name, holding her like she was the only thing that mattered. Lisanna smiled, but tears were streaming down her cheeks. She knew how much Natsu cared about her, and it made her happy. She was like a little sister to him, after all.

Lisanna knew what she had to do if she wanted to save Gajeel.

She glared and accepted his challenge to a fight.

_HAPPY AND LEVY_

"Levy! Somethings wrong! You gotta help me find Natsu because it might be too late!" yelled the distressed Happy.

Levy nodded, looking worried. "You know where Lisanna is, right?"

Happy nodded quickly. He didn't have time to talk, he needed to find Natsu.

_NATSU AND LUCY_

They had continued their arguing for some time, now. Natsu wanted to know why Lucy had lied to him. Lucy wanted to know why Natsu was always so damn late when he saved her.

Lucy was ready to crucify Natsu right then, and Natsu was ready to drop Lucy right then. Notice who has the murderous intentions?

They were nearing the guild hall, now, both with gigantic frowns on their faces.

The hall was surprisingly empty. The only people there were Cana, Levy, Mirajane, and a very distressed Happy.

"Natsu and Lucy! Come help!"

"SHUT UP!" they screamed in unision.

Mirajane giggled. "Lover's quarrel."

Cana grinned lazily. Levy was still talking concerned like at Happy. And Happy was cowering behind the table leg.

Natsu put Lucy down on one of the table tops. His head was on fire, now, as he was stinking mad.

At that moment, Gray Fullbuster stormed into the guild hall from the direction of the forest.

"They're after MEEEEEEEEE!" he yelled, then joined Happy hiding behind the table leg.

"SHUT UP!" Lucy and Natsu yelled in unison again.

They glared at eachother.

"I THOUGHT OF IT FIRST!" they said at the same time. In fact, they continued to say random things after that, all at the same time.

The guild hall was even more silent than it was beforehand.

Cana almost spit out her beer when she heard what they were saying.

"PEANUTS ARE SUCKIER THAN YOU!"

"SHUT UP FINALLY, DAMMIT!"

"OH, YOU MAKE ME SOOOO SICK!"

Lucy stopped the unison, however, with a fact that made everyone's jaws drop.

"I SHOULD NEVER LET YOU SLEEP IN MY BED WHILE I'M ON THE FLOOR IN MY OWN HOUSE!"

At the same time, Natsu said, "I SHOULD NEVER SLEEP IN YOUR BED, IT SUCKS!"

They suddenly became silent, and looked over at everyone else.

"So you guys decided to get married, already?"

Mirajane. _DAMN YOU, _thought Natsu.

_DAMN YOU, _thought Lucy.

* * *

_THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!_

_THE SECOND STEP IS TOO REVIEW!_

_.. OR YOU COULD CHECK MY PROFILE OUT .._


	11. Chapter 11

THANK YOU ALL FOR READING! LOL I just finished reading Eragon because I was finally convinced to read it by a friend.

IT WAS AWESOME!

Anyway, since someone has suggested something, I'll use it! Thnx, girls! XD

* * *

_LISANNA AND GAJEEL_

"I won't let you do it." Lisanna said firmly. Her lip quivered a bit, though. That sign was all that Gajeel needed. He grinned.

"I think I'll play around with you a bit, before I kill you."

Lisanna glared. "You wouldn't dare. You don't know what will happen if you hurt me."

Gajeel's smirk faded for a moment, but he recovered quickly. "I don't know what the hell you're talkin' about, so shut the hell up and let me kill you!"

Fast as lighting, Gajeel's arm stretched out, forming into metal, it began to to rotate quickly, like a chainsaw. Lisanna's eyes widened in fear, but she bit her lip before she could scream.

She closed her eyes, then decided she couldn't handle the suspense. She opened her eyes a tiny bit.

The chainsaw came down like it was going in slow motion, so Lisanna shut her eyes again.

* * *

_NATSU, LUCY, MIRAJANE, HAPPY, CANA, AND LEVY_

"I can't believe you, Natsu!" yelled Lucy, her face red with rage.

"Well I can't believe you, either!" yelled Natsu, his _head _red with rage.

"I can't believe they eve let you join this place! I bet your birth certificate is actually an apology letter from the condom factory!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT IN FRONT OF MIRAJANE!" Natsu screamed, his head on fire.

Mirajane giggled, yet again. "I wonder... _I _bet Natsu's planning to propose pretty quick here. They're just proving how close they are."

It was then that Gray had a magnificent idea. He went over to Mirajane and whispered something into her ear. Her eyes widened with absolute happiness. "Let's go!" she whispered to Gray with glee.

Gray and Mirajane left, walking towards the forest.

A certain Juvia followed them, watching Gray. She continued stalking them.

Mirajane would _not _take her Gray away from her.

Gray glanced back, just in time to see her blue hair flash behind a tree. He smiled.

_Juvia_

* * *

The rest of the folks in the guild hall at the time were attempting to calm Natsu and Lucy down so that they wouldn't actually kill each other, instead of just pretending to.

Happy _thought_ he could end it. "Stop it!" he cried, "You know that you l-i-k-e each other!"

They froze, then glared at Happy. Then Lucy looked at Natsu. Natsu looked at Lucy.

"Get him?" she sneered.

"Get him." he growled.

With their temporary truce, they began bounding towards Happy, Lucy brandishing her keys, and Natsu waiving his hands ignited with flame.

Happy crouched and made his cute face, hoping that they had sympathy for that sort of thing. Levy stood in shock, not two feet away from Happy, while Cana sat on the table he was hiding behind.

Suddenly, Lucy stopped. Natsu, who had been behind her, stopped in surprise, resulting in him slipping and falling on his but. He got up angrily, ready to murder Lucy.

"Natsu," she said, her eyes veiled. "I don't think we should fight. Not with each other, and not with Happy. It'll just make everything worse than it already is."

"L-Lucy."

"So we need to make Happy realized that we're good friends. NOT ANYTHING HE IS IMAGINING IN HIS HALLUCENATIONS!"

"Y-Yeah." said Natsu, looking kid of dazed as he stuttered.

"'Cause we're the strongest guild so we can beat our enemies, not our friends!" Lucy said, raising her he hand and pointing upward, making the 'number one'.

Cana and Happy did, too. That left Natsu.

"Come on, Natsu. Welcome to Fairy Tail. This is where all the weirdos hang out." she said, holding her hand out to him, a slight blush on her face.

"Sure," Natsu said quietly. He grabbed Lucy's hand and she pulled him up off the ground.

After he was up, he turned away from her and Cana, Happy, and Levy. His head was red, and his heart felt like it was pounding out of it's cage. He pressed his hand to his chest.

It was then that Levy felt the need to stop this situation, however happy she felt for Lucy and Natsu. Lisanna was in trouble, and so was Gajeel...

"Guys!" she yelled, desperately trying to get their attention. "I need your help! Happy says he took Lisanna to an island and she left him there and I don't know what to do because she could be hurt and Gajeel could to and I- I-" she stopped herself, bawling.

Natsu turned to her. "Where is this island."

Lucy nodded. "Take us there."

* * *

_ERZA, JELLAL, GRAY, MIRAJANE, AND... GRAY'S STALKER... JUVIA_

"Well, well!" Mirajane exclaimed. "If only I had caught them when you had."

Gray raised his eyebrows. "Aren't you concerned that _he_" he gestured to Jellal, "Is here?"

Mirajane shook her head. "I don't see any problem with it." she started to take pictures with her special candid camera.

Gray looked at the two, fast asleep. He guessed Jellal had done it when he was unconscious, but he had his arm protectively over Erza. Her hand was resting on that arm. The flash of the camera made Erza move slightly. This, in turn, made Jellal jump and hit his head on the tree they were leaning up against.

"Who turned on the lights?" he asked groggily, tightening his hold on Erza.

"Well, the sun was up before now, but the flash of my camera may have made it brighter." Mirajane said sweetly.

_What? _Thought Jellal, _camera?_

His eyes adjusted to the light, and he saw the grinning Mirajane standing over him with a pink camera. He blinked, as she flashed it right in his face. "Stop that! You're blinding me!"

Mirajane just laughed. "Ooh! Sorcerer weekly will be all over this if I white out your face and have it blank! It'll keep your identity secret, _and _it will reveal that Erza's been taken!"

Jellal could see clearly now. His arm was over Erza protectively, and she was grabbing his arm in her sleep. They were leaning against each other, and Erza was sleeping soundly.

The he remembered. He jumped up, shifting the semi-awake Erza and stared at Mirajane and Gray, his mouth gaping. Erza grabbed his leg and pulled him back down. He fell over and nearly sat on her.

"Aaah!" yelled Jellal, struggling.

"Haha!" laughed Gray, holding his sides.

"Teehee!" giggled Mirajane, snapping pictures.

"Mmmm- huh?" said Erza, waking.

_Crap, _thought Jellal.

* * *

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING! THE NEXT STEP IS TO REVIEW!

Please review, it encourages me and I like and need encouragement..

AND NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW FOR THE CHARACTER'S OPINIONS!

Jellal: Dammit

Erza: Jellal... hmmm.. I'm sleepy...

Gray: O.O Shit, we're done for.

Mirajane: This is so fun! ;D

Lucy: Uh, Natsu? Are you okay?

Natsu: (brushes himself off heroically) Of course I am!

Happy: You are so stupid, Natsu.

Me: (Nods head)


	12. Chapter 12

_Hey!_

Congrats for reading this far! Please think of things you would like to mention while reading, please. (So you can review)

* * *

_LISANNA, GAJEEL, AND... WE SHALL SEE WHO..._

The chainsaw came down faster and faster.

Lisanna wondered what it felt like to die, as she was sure she was about to. She was pretty sure that in order to stop Gajeel, he would have to hurt her. The only way Lisanna could avoid death was to trick Gajeel into hurting her without killing her, or otherwise seriously hurting her. The only problem was that Gajeel only knew how to hurt people bad enough to kill them, or seriously hurt them.

Lisanna was ready, though, because she knew that her life was practically nothing compared to her friends lives. Honestly, sometimes she felt a little useless, but others, she felt like a burden. She reflected her bad memories, and reminisced upon the good ones, trying to make sure she remembered all of her memories, as they were so important.

And then she realized that it had been _way _too long before she was going to be beheaded. Lisanna heard a low growl from Gajeel. She felt the presence of someone else standing over her, perhaps blocking the chain saw. She granted herself a peek, and gasped.

"Laxus?"

_ERZA, JELLAL, MIRAJANE, GRAY, AND JUVIA_

Jellal was in a very _not fun_ situation.

He had Mirajane taking pictures of him every two seconds. He had Gray laughing his ass off. He had Juvia in the background, undoubtedly another witness.

And then there was Erza, who was clutching his shirt and snuggling him while he lay on the ground, in terror of Mirajane and her mighty pink camera.

Everyone had frozen up when it seemed like Erza was going to wake up. Apparently she didn't have a reputation of being sweet all the time. He bet they were all imagining her glaring at them and attacking them, which Jellal knew was actually a possibility.

But _no,_ she wasn't warding them off so they could nap because they were damn tired. She was trying to go back to sleep. She shifted herself so that she was stretched across him, grabbing his shirt and mumbling things. Jellal was desperately trying to get her off him, and Mirajane had not ceased her picture taking. He held his hand up to her.

"Now, Mirajane, you've had your fun, now you can stop taking pictures!"

Mirajane looked shocked. "Why would I do that?" she asked innocently. "I want to catch you when she wakes up and sees you. It'll be great. Though I wish I had been there when Gray saw you. _That _would have been great."

Jellal gaped at her. His entire head turned as red as a tomato. Redder, in fact.

"W-what are you talking about?" he asked, stuttering.

She smiled sweetly. "Oh, I know all about _that._ Gray told me all about it."

Jellal looked up at her in horror. "He told you." he said weakly.

Erza hugged him tighter and put her face to his neck. He started to smile at her, but caught himself and glared at Mirajane's camera lens.

"You know I could blow that thing to pieces."

Gray stopped laughing for a moment, caught his breath, and looked at Jellal, horrified.

"NO! Don't invoke her! She'll beat the crap out of you!"

"No," said Mirajane. "I think Jellal, being a heavenly body mage, might be a good match against me."

"Woah. He's a heavenly body mage? I had no idea.. You think you know a guy..." Gray said, sighing.

"I don't really care right now! And otherwise, Gray, you've never known me!" yelled Jellal, infuriated.

Erza stirred. Everyone froze again. She woke up, rubbed her eyes, and spotted Jellal.

"Mmmm... Why is my face in your neck?" she slurred, turning her head towards Mirajane and Gray.

"Uh," muttered Jellal. "Because you put it there." (Well no _shit, _Sherlock)

"Oh, I forgot about that." she blinked, and everyone flinched. Erza saw Mirajane, who was waving her camera between snaps.

Her eyes widened and she surveyed the situation. She blinked a couple more times in surprise.

"Gray?" she said quietly.

"Y-yes?" he whimpered.

"Mirajane?" she said quietly again.

"Uh huh?" she said, smiling.

"Why are you here?"

"Because," Mirajane giggled. "This is so much more fun than watching Natsu and Lucy back at the guild!"

Erza pushed herself off of Jellal's chest and stood, drinking in the fact that Lucy had been saved, and the monster must have been killed. Jellal looked a little bit disappointed when she got off him, but then he shook his head _really _hard, trying to rid himself of the thought.

Erza looked at Mirajane and her camera.

"Give me the camera."

Mirajane widened her eyes in mock surprise, but she had the look of someone saying: _I knew it._

"What will you give me for it?"

"I'll let you beat up Natsu the next time I catch him peeping on Lucy."

Mirajane choked. "Natsu's been _peeping_! On _LUCY_? You might actually have to get me before you spook him, that would be amazing!"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!" yelled Gray in surprise.

Erza's face showed no emotion. Inside, however, she was chuckling. If Natsu had peeped on Lucy, he wouldn't be alive right then.

"Yes."

Mirajane gave in, and handed the camera to Erza, who began deleting pictures, her cheeks turning red as she looked at them. She would stop, every once in a while, and save one of them. Jellal couldn't stand the tension anymore.

"Hey, can I see any of them?" he said, getting up.

Erza snatched the camera towards herself, even though he hadn't even asked for it or held his hand out.

"NO."

Jellal backed off. "Okay, whatever you want."

Gray watched, but when he got bored, he started walking backwards slowly. Jellal noticed him, however, and ran up to him with inhuman speed and tackled him. They fell to the ground with a big

"_OOF!"_

"Where do you think you're going?" whispered Jellal.

Gray grunted, trying vainly to free himself from Jellal's grapple hold. "Get off me." he said, his voice low and menacing.

"Break it up!" yelled Erza, requiping into her normal armor.

Jellal got up off of Gray, and gave him a hand. Gray took it cautiously, and stood up.

"Now," said Erza. "I believe we have a much bigger problem than this."

_NATSU, LUCY, AND HAPPY_

Thankfully, a boatman was crazy enough to let Natsu take a ride to 'that island over there I have no idea where it is'.

He looked like a boat captain from one of those old fashioned pirate movies. Kind of like Blackbeard, when you think about it. And weirder, he kept grinning his toothless mouth at them, like, like, like he had teeth... _Eeeew_... (LOL)

His sailboat was small and weathered, and he said he would get them wherever they wanted, but for a couple thousand jewel. Lucy had gulped, thinking of her rent, but agreed to pay.

She sat on the starboard side on the floor planks, feeling the wind brush through her hair, the salty sea making the air smell briny. Happy sat on her lap, looking over at the empty horizon. It was nearly midday now, and they were both starting to get thirsty. The sun shone down on them all, and Lucy could only wonder what kind of sunburn she was getting.

Natsu, however, was not thinking about water or sun. In fact, no one was really sure _what _he was thinking.

"BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRGGGG!" he moaned, his head and arms limply hanging over the side of the boat on the other side. "I'm never going to ride a stupid train again!" he yelled, before shivering and shutting his mouth.

"Natsu," Lucy said, trying not to laugh, "This isn't a train."

Happy showed no response to her teasing of Natsu, however. His eyes were glued to the sea, probably in search of that island. This surprised Lucy. Usually Happy would be rubbing Natsu's stupidity in his face, maybe throwing in another joke. Now he was just frowning unhappily.

"IIII DDOOOON'TTT CARRREE IFFF IT'SSS NOTTT AAA TRAAAIIINNN!" Natsu bellowed.

Lucy, feeling sympathetic, walked carefully over to Natsu's side of the boat. She sat next to him and tried to keep his mind off of his stomach.

"So," she said, ignoring his constant moans of pain. "What are we going to do after we get to the island?"

Natsu replied by heaving into the briny blue.

Lucy vowed never to swim in the sea ever again. Natsu surprised her, however, and attempted conversation with her.

"L-lucy," he stuttered. "I-" he stopped himself and blushed.

She probably didn't want to hear it anyway.

* * *

Thank you for reading! The second 'r' in 'r n r' is REVIEW!

And remember, if I see a suggestion before I've finished the chapter, I'll definately put it in! (Unless I HATE it)


	13. Chapter 13

HEY, I dunno _why, _but I felt like Mirajane needed to make sure something romancy happened... I guess ... lol... I dunno...

ANYWAY PLEASE THINK OF SUGGESTIONS WHILE YOU READ! I would greatly appreciate that as I'm always trying to improve!

* * *

_LISANNA, GAJEEL, AND WE SHALL SEE WHO..._

Lisanna stared up at the lightning dragon slayer. His hands were faced towards Gajeel, his palms outward, and cracking with electricity.

"I wouldn't take another step if I were you, metalhead." Laxus said menacingly.

Lisanna was still in complete shock as she sank to the ground. Her eyes wide in fear, she wondered why Lazus, of all people, was there. He'd been gone for a while, and no one in Fairy Tail had heard of seen him in weeks. Even his bodyguards were frantic. Why was he here?

Gajeel backed up quickly and fell to the ground as she did.

"What the hell are you doin' here?" yelled Gajeel.

"I could ask you the same thing, Gajeel! Why were you about to kill Lisanna? What's wrong with you? I think I'm going to have to bust you hard if you don't tell me why! Why are you here?" Laxus yelled furiously.

"He doesn't know." whispered Lisanna. Laxus turned toward her, still obviously troubled by the events he had just witnessed.

"What?" he exclaimed. "Of course he does! You have to have an extremely large amount of pure will to get into this island!"

Gajeel, seeing his chance as Laxus was occupied, attempted escape. Laxus spotted him through the corner of his eye, and turned toward him, raising his arm threateningly.

"Stop. Don't move a muscle, or who knows what'll happen to you. I'm pretty sure you know what happens when lightning comes in contact with metal." Laxus glared at Gajeel, his entire body crackling yellow. "Explain, now!"

Gajeel gulped visibly, but he furrowed his brow and sneered. "I came here against my own will, but after I came here, the black power inside me convinced me to help it's cause. It has instructed me to awaken an even greater power! Soon I will rule space and time with it! All the damn good in the world will be vanquished and replaced forever!" By the end of his rampage, Gajeel was gasping for air, sweat draining down his neck. He had a crazed look in his eye. "And if you try to stop me, I'll kill you!"

Laxus glared yet again at him. Lisanna sat on the ground, confused and frightened. Gajeel begain to laugh madly, but he stopped when he saw someone behind Laxus and Lisanna. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"W-what's going on?"

* * *

_NATSU, HAPPY, AND LUCY_

He was _still_ throwing up. Natsu didn't seem to know how to keep his guts inside of him. He heaved his lunch out over the boat before grabbing onto Lucy, who was sitting against the railing on the side of the boat.

Lucy was asleep, snoring like a walrus, or something loud like that.

He grabbed her anyway, resting his head on her lap like a little kid. He moaned because of the pain in his stomach and held Lucy tighter. He flinched, realizing he was probably wrinkling her shirt. And making it wet.

_Damn._

He struggled to stand, pushing against the boards on the deck and getting splinters in the process. He panted and sweated, trying to hold himself up. Lucy, meanwhile, had slid further down the side of the deck, and was now laying flat across it. Natsu was positioned so that he was crossed over her, his arms on one side, his legs another. He was trying desperately to move, but it just wasn't working. His body wouldn't.

He finally passed out, his collapsed form splayed across her stomach.

Lucy stirred, feeling an unexpected weight.

_What the-_

* * *

_ERZA, JELLAL, MIRAJANE, JUVIA, AND GRAY_

"So," said Jellal. "What's this 'bigger problem'?"

"Yeah. What?" Gray inquired.

Erza rolled her eyes and glared at Jellal. "Are you brainwashed, or just stupid?"

Jellal blinked, stunned, and, honestly, a little bit hurt.

Then he remembered. _Oh, that. What an idiot._

"The evil magic." he said.

Erza, satisfied, smiled encouragingly. "You can go ahead and tell them. You can trust them, don't worry."

Jellal sighed. "I'm going to have to trust you, then."

Erza's eyes narrowed. "Was there any point along here that you _didn't _trust me?"

Jellal back tracked quickly. "N-no! Not at all!"

Mirajane and Juvia stared, lapping it all up, and Gray stared because he was bored.

Erza and Jellal forgot that anyone was watching. It's so sad, how stupid they are sometimes. Erza was grabbing Jellal's shirt again, asking him in a soft voice how much he trusted her. (EEEEEEEHHH Fan-girl scream! KYAAAAAAA!)

Mirajane was about to blow up from the suspense. So was Juvia. _What the heck? _Thought Gray.

Jellal stared into Erza's eyes, entranced by her sudden softness. She was slowly bringing his face down, closer to hers.

Suddenly something snapped.

Mirajane looked at her watch. It was exactly twelve o' clock. Juvia took her chance as Gray was bored, and grabbed his shirt, too. Gray jumped about five feet in the air, but landed, Juvia's hand still clutching his shirt.

"Gray," Juvia said, her eyes tearing up.

"W-what are you do- ing?" Gray croaked.

"Gray, y-" she coughed, cutting herself short.

"I-" Gray said at the same time.

They stared at each other. Gray stared at Juvia. Juvia stared at Gray. Erza stared at Jellal. Jellal stared at Erza.

Mirajane looked back and forth, practically wagging her tail. _Her potion had worked so perfectly._

She smiled, and decided to reveal the truth.

"Hey, lovebirds," she sang, "I know you all like each other, but I want you to know that the reason you have the courage, is because I gave you all love potions. That spider was _full _of it."

Erza, her face centimeters from Jellal's looked quickly at Mirajane, then back at Jellal.

"S-so anyone that breathed the dust was e-affected?" she said, her voice raised barely above a whisper.

"Yup!"

"So Natsu was affected, too?"

"Yup, and the potion takes affect right now, at noon exactly!"

"And Lucy?"

"Yup. And they're on a boat together."

_Crap, _they all thought at the same time, _Either Mirajane doesn't get it, or she has a plan._

The potion started to take effect, making the wizards go crazy. There was a weird feeling in the air, like something was about to happen.

Juvia smashed her mouth into Gray's, and he responded quickly, completely oblivious to anything else.

Erza was really fighting it. Jellal had already lost his concentration, though, so it really didn't matter what she wanted. She decided not resisting wouldn't be _too _bad... Her eyes fluttered shut.

Mirajane left the two couples kissin' their lil' hearts out. She needed to go on with her plan to help save everyone. Except for one, tiny problem.

"F-fried? Are you out there?" she said, gasping. She pressed her hands to her chest, struggling to breath. _Had she inhaled the spider's smoke, too?_ Mirajane couldn't take it anymore. She had an overwhelming desire to _find _Fried.

She shook her head, hard. She had to find Lisanna. Mirajane knew she was the only one who could talk sense into her, other than Elfman and Natsu, that is. Natsu was on his way there, however, and Elfman was on a job somewhere in the mountains.

Except Natsu would be preoccupied. He was not exempt from the potion. Mirajane sighed, wondering if she had gotten herself in too deep, and started out towards the docks.

She needed a boat.

* * *

THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING!

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	14. Chapter 14

_Helloooooo_

_Sorry this is LATE!_

_SPARE ME, PLEASEEEEEEEEEEE_

* * *

_NATSU, LUCY, AND HAPPY_

"W-what are you doing on me?" Lucy stammered. It seemed like the boat had stopped, which was weird. And where was the captain? Or Happy?

Natsu groaned and lifted his pink haired head. "Sorry, Luce. It was an accident." He tried to get up, but stumbled again, and Lucy caught him. She was holding him up by the soldiers. Lucy quickly maneuvered herself so that she was sitting on her knees, like Natsu.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

He looked up. "Y-yeah. And, uh, you can stop holding me up, now."

"Oh!" Lucy shouted. "Sorry!" She let go of him, and he stood up shakily.

Lucy looked at her watch as she wondered what time it was. Eleven fifty-nine. Natsu held his hand out to her and she grabbed it, using it as a lever to stand up.

The problem was, Natsu still hadn't completely recovered from being on a moving boat, as he was still on a boat, just not moving. But it was _still _transportation. He tripped and fell on top of her, yet again.

"Ow," Lucy groaned.

"Sorry."

Then something snapped. Natsu's eyes widened. _What the hell was that? _He spaced out for a moment, trying to wrap his head around what had just happened.

"Uh- Natsu?"

Natsu blinked back to reality. He was laying on Lucy, pinning her arms down. His face was dangerously close, just a centimeter away from hers.

He lay there, shocked. _Why did he feel that he should just-_

He stopped thinking when his lips brushed hers lightly. She gasped. Natsu did, too. He hadn't _meant _to do that, it just _happened._

Her eyes widened, as he dipped a second time, kissing her harder. He let her arms go free, and she pushed herself up against the side of the boat, still lip-locked with him. He pushed her against the side, his arms wrapped around her, her hands in his hair.

If Happy had been there, he would have died from embarrassment.

* * *

_LAXUS, GAJEEL, LISANNA, AND... WE SHALL SEE WHO..._

"W-what the hell are you doin' here?" Gajeel yelled, his eyes widened as he was shaking his head.

"I'm saving you." said a very stubborn, but scared Levy.

Lisanna's mouth gaped open, her expression that of pure, clean, shock. Laxus was a bit more put together, but one could still see the amazement in his eyes. Gajeel was on his knees, shaking his head like it was all not true.

"Y-you-"

Laxus cut him off, taking his chance and knocking him hard with lightning. Gajeel flew ten feet, then smashed into the ground. Levy stood her ground, but she was trembling.

"Levy." said Lisanna.

"We can't afford to be here for long." said Laxus, "We don't want to be here when he wakes up. But we'll keep a close watch on him from somewhere."

He walked off, tearing through the jungle. Lisanna got up shakily and followed him, stepping carefully on the plant littered ground. Levy went after them, stopping for a minute to look at Gajeel. She started crying as she passed him. She _would _free him.

* * *

_HAPPY AND..._

Happy woke up angrily, thinking of the fish he was about to eat in his dream. He was being bumped up and down roughly, and he didn't really appreciate that. Happy the blue exceed opened his big eyes, and gasped

He was being _carried _by a _monster! _Except it wasn't really a monster. It was just a jungle animal, also known as a panther.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Happy screamed. "NAAAAAAATSSSUUUUU! LUUUUUUUCCCYYYY! HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Silence," the panther growled, and Happy whimpered. He had to get out of this situation, and where was this big panther taking him? Where was Natsu and Lucy? Were they still on the boat? Were they taken by big panthers, too?

The Happy took a better look at the panther. And.. HEY! PANTHERS DIDN'T TALK! Was there a reason he was standing on two feet? He looked kinda familiar..

_MIRAJANE AND.. WE SHALL SEE WHO..._

Mirajane walked towards the docks with the full intention of getting on a boat, finding Lisanna, and bringing her back. She planned on all of this. Except for one, tiny, important detail of that day.

She didn't plan on Fried.

He was sitting on the docks, staring out at the sea. He looked back at her.

"Oh, hi, Mirajane. Nice to see you here, I guess. Have you seen Laxus lately?" he said, strangely cheerfully.

Mirajane stopped in her tracks. _Not here. Not _now.

"Uh, hi, Fried. Um, no, I haven't seen Laxus lately. Uh- bye!" She squeaked and ran off, her heart pounding. This was _terrible! _She had to get to Lisanna, but Fried was in her way!

_Why _did she have to make things complicated? (Havin' some regrets, ne, Mira-chan?)

* * *

_JELLAL, ERZA, GRAY, AND JUVIA_

"I-"

"Dammit!"

"Arg!"

"I am going to KILL HER!"

The four mages glanced at each other. The supposed 'spell' had just 'broken' and they were back to their 'normal' selves. Every single one of their entire heads were red, and they were about embarrassed as you could get.

"We can't allow her to get away with this!" yelled Erza, rage taking over her.

"HELL YEAH!" yelled Gray and Jellal at the same time.

"Y-yes!" cried Juvia.

All three began ravaging through the forest, intent on finding Mirajane and beating the crap out of her. They ran out of the trees and past the guild hall, earning a weird glance from Cana, the only person left there.

_I wonder what they're doin'. Nah, it doesn't matter, anyway. At least Erza didn't see my vodka.. _she thought, mildly amused.

Erza ran like she never had before. Mirajane really had _done _it this time. She was _not _getting away. Juvia was shaking in jubilee. Gray had an evil aura around him. _But, _he thought, _then again, it didn't seem _that _bad..._

Jellal was a different story altogether.

He was kinda getting tired of all of this running. He'd barely gotten _any _sleep thanks to Mirajane, and he didn't like it. He actually hadn't minded kissing Erza again, it's just that he was so _tired._

He furrowed his brow and ran faster. He would let Mirajane know what it felt like to be tired. He would fight her until she was. Yeah, that was good, he'd beat her to a pulp and then take a nap... Yeah...

He fell over asleep as he was running. Everyone skidded, glancing back at their partner in revenge. Jellal was sprawled on the ground, snoring and yelling, "Mirajane! Come here and I'llll... beat the... crap outa'.. you..."

Gray rolled his eyes. So did Erza.

"Get up, Jellal!" she yelled, shaking him. "We need to find Mirajane so that we can get revenge! This is important! Don't you remember what she did?"

Jellal woke, startled. "Yes! I remember what she did, and I don't think we're chasing after her for the same reasons."

Gray narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

Jellal sat up and shrugged, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "I'm after her because she interrupted my nap. I bet that Erza is upset because she made us kiss in front of people. Gray isn't upset at all, and Juvia is in utter happiness."

Gray stepped back. "Yeah, I get it. Does that mean that we can stop chasing her now?"

Erza frowned. "You can go off if you want, but I think there's something more to this story. Mirajane's not the type to do this sort of thing without an audience. She wanted us out of the way for some reason."

Jellal nodded. "I completely agree with you on that one. We still have to follow her."

Juvia shook her head. "That's too bad. We have no clue where Mira-san went."

Well _that _was a problem...

* * *

AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR READING!

Oh, and I got some suggestions for this chapter! If you want to have me put something in the story, just put it in the review!

Please review, even if you don't have a suggestion!


	15. Chapter 15

DOMO!

Sorry this is a bit late... And it's a bit short...

Ehehe... DON'T KILL ME, NATSU!

* * *

"ARG! WHAT IN THE BRINY DAMNED SEA ARE YA' DOIN' ON MY DECK?"

Natsu and Lucy, previously in kissing mode, jumped apart and looked to the captain. He glared back at them. Both of their heads turned entirely red.

Natsu kind of made a screaming noise and jumped up into the air. Lucy sat on the ground, rubbing her hands and blushing her poor head off.

Natsu landed, grabbed Lucy's hand, and jumped _right out of the boat_. Lucy screamed as they sailed straight down, but Natsu ignored both her and the captain's screaming, and fell on towards the water.

"NAATSU YOU FREAKING ASS! WHAAAT ARE YOU DOIIINGGGG?" yelled a very infuriated Lucy. He hair was streaming upwards, and Natsu tightened his hold on her.

"I'MMM GETTINGG US OFF THISS DAMNED BOOOOAAATTT!" he yelled back.

They hit the water with a deafening screech from Lucy.

Lucy felt a burst of cold, like she was in ice water. She was so disoriented, she couldn't see which was was up. All she could feel was cold salt water, she opened her eyes, but gasped, water going up her nose. Salt water and eyes do _not _equal anything good. Then she felt strong arms pull her in some direction. Maybe it was up...

Air!

She needed to breath! Her lungs felt like they were being ripped apart and exploding. She opened her mouth to scream, but lost the rest of her air when she did.

Her head broke the surface just as she lost consciousness. The arms around her squeezed her tighter. They were warm, and she was sleepy. So she fell asleep. (No shit Sherlock.. XD)

* * *

_MIRAJANE_

She had to get to that island as fast a possible! There was NO other choice!

Lisanna needed her! The guild needed her! She was the only one who could do this, so she had to. Mirajane ran past the shops by the docks. She had to find a boat _away _from Fried in time. Then again, if she stayed away from Fried until the potion wore off, she could pass by him and not even flinch- which was what she was doing a lot right then.

She trumped on, determine to not think about Fried, and just to think about saving Lisanna. She flinched as she bumped into a wall. Ack! She knew she needed to stay focused, and she rubbed her forehead in pain.

"Hey, Mirajane!"

Mirajane froze. She turned slowly around.

Gray, Jellal, Erza and Juvia stood before her. Erza looked pretty pissed. So did Jellal.

Gray and Juvia looked like they were on cloud nine or something. Jellal and Erza walked towards Mirajane, completely synchronized.

"Did you seriously think you could hide from _us_?" asked Erza.

"W-what she said." said Jellal.

"You have to help me!" cried Mirajane pleadingly, raising her hands to them.

Gray's eyebrow twitched. "Help with what?" he asked.

"Yes, tell us." she commanded.

Mirajane sighed. Time to spill...

* * *

_LAXUS, LISANNA AND LEVY_

"Just stay _put_."

"But I can't _see_!"

"You don't _need _to see!"

"But I _have _to!"

Laxus and Levy were whispering nasty things to annoy each other. They both seemed intent on getting the other to shut up, which neither was happy with.

"It's too small in here! You're to big, Laxus, get out!" Lisanna whispered finally, trying to end the madness.

"Shut up!" Laxus yelled.

"_You _shut up!" whispered Levy and Lisanna harshly. "You're louder than us!"

Laxus pouted and pulled his arms around himself tighter. They were in a tight cave, hidden behind the brush, and at just an angle where Gajeel was visible. Laxus had chosen this place because he thought it was well hidden, but now he was having doubts in his plan.

These _girls _were making it tough for him. If they kept trying to get him out of the dugout, he would seriously consider murdering one of them. He sighed, and turned his glare towards them again.

"We have to stay put if we want to kick his ass when he gets up. We don't have anything to tie him down with, and using force to hold him down won't work. That means we have to stay in a position where we can grab him as soon as he wakes up and interrogate him." said Laxus.

Levy nodded, but then hardened her gaze towards Laxus. "Don't you _dare _hurt him too bad, though. I-I'll get really upset and I-I'll do something bad to you!"

Lisanna's eyes widened, and she remained silent. Laxus narrowed his eyes at Levy. He continued staring at her. Levy was looking at Gajeel's unconscious form on the ground, her eyebrows shaking.

Laxus sighed. Damn stuff like that.

* * *

_HAPPY AND... WE SHALL SEE WHO..._

"Lily?" asked Happy, shocked.

Pantherlily grunted. "You got that right. Now be silent while I try to navigate this place."

"Oh. Alright."

They continued on in silence, only the enlarged black exceed's footsteps pounding on the jungle floor. Happy got bored of being carried, and requested being put down.

"Fine." said Pantherlily grumpily.

He let go of him and Happy sprouted wings and flew up into the air, flitting- well – _happily_.

Then he wondered where the heck Natsu and Lucy were. He shrugged, assuming that since Pantherlily was with him, Natsu and Lucy were taken care of. He tried not too think too much on it, though, because he was getting nervous.

Happy frowned, but continued flying with Pantherlily, oblivious to the fact that he had no idea where Pantherlily was leading him.

* * *

_CHARLA AND WENDY_

They walked deeper into the canyon, sure that they were being followed. There was something strange here, and both Wendy and Charla were afraid. Wendy was shivering, but Charla was trying to remain calm. She _would _protect Wendy.

A shifting sound made both of them jump, and they looked to their right, their eyes wide.

Nothing.

They stood there, waiting for the slightest sound. It seemed like a million years had passed before Charla spoke.

"W- is there anyone there?" she asked, her voice quivering a little.

Only silence answered.

She let out a sigh, remarking that it was probably either their imaginations, or a pebble had just fallen.

Wendy wasn't so sure.

* * *

Anyway, THANKS FOR READING!

I appreciate all and any reviews you have!

AND FOR THE CHARACTER'S OPINIONS!

Natsu: Dammit! Shit! Crap! Bull Shit! Hell!

Gray: Are you just saying all the swear words you know?

Me: Probably. It looks like he doesn't have a very big vocabulary...

Natsu: YOU WANT ME TO SHOW YOU A BIG VOCABULARY?

Gray and Me: NO, SIR!

(Why am I calling Natsu sir? I dunno... I just felt like it, I guess.)


	16. Chapter 16

_REALLY sorry here. This chapter was SOOO short!_

_I, Katy, solemnly swear to make the next chapter at least 3,000 words long. There. 3_

* * *

_NATSU AND LUCY (sitting_' in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Hehehe.. XD)

Lucy opened her eyes and sat up, rocking her head violently. She had been laying down on the sand, he hair messed up and scrunched up behind her. Her neck was weak, and her head snapped forward. She felt nausea hit her.

Then the briny smell hit her and she puked her guts out.

The next thing she knew, she was on her hands and knees, shaking and trying to grip the sand, trying to hold on to something. _Man, puking sucked. _

"Hey."

Lucy's tear streaked face turned towards the direction the voice had come from. Suddenly someone was stroking her back, and telling her...

"Now you know what it's like to throw up! He he, it's okay."

Oh, lord...

Natsu stood curiously over Lucy, wondering what was wrong with her. He took his hand off of her head, and tried to figure out what to do next. His stomach tinged a little bit, when he thought of what had just happened...

He started freaking out, then. Running his hands through his hair, breathing faster, sweating his head off- the _usual._ He sighed and knelt down next to Lucy. She was breathing raggedly, but at least she wasn't throwing up.

She raised her head and glared at Natsu. "Don't y-you dare talk a-about throwing up m-" she was cut off when a wave of nausea came over her again. She coughed, tired of the salty spit in her mouth.

Natsu was worried about her now. He'd been very ashamed of himself ever since he jumped out of the boat. She'd been unconscious for so long, he didn't even know if she would ever wake up. He knew it was stupid of him, to think she'd _never _wake up. That wasn't possible. Lucy couldn't just- He stopped himself, forbidding him to even think of that. It wouldn't happen.

_He wouldn't allow it._

* * *

_HAPPY AND PANTHERLILLY_

Happy and Pantherlilly continued down the forest path, not completely oblivious to the sounds of snakes hissing and monkeys howling in the trees beside them. It was when Happy couldn't stand the silence anymore that he discovered a very strange thing.

Pantherlilly was _big _again.

Happy cautiously flew closer to Lilly's ear, and opened his big mouth to whisper something.

"Lilly, are we in Edolas?"

The black exceed looked at him, unimpressed. "No, I just managed to maintain my size. It might be because of a very strong magic in the area, or something like that. I- I kind of enjoy it."

Happy's face sunk. "Then why haven't _I _gotten big?"

"You're too little."

The blue exceed's face sagged, fake tears streaming down his face. "You're so _mean, _Lilly!"

* * *

_MIRAJANE, GRAY, JUVIA, JELLAL, AND ERZA_

"Well, I think that there is a really big problem." said Mirajane, trying to calm herself.

"No freaking duh."

"Really?"

Erza glared at her comrades, her eyes lingering on Jellal for a moment. "Be silent and listen, you fools!" she barked harshly at them.

Gray stared at her sulkily and rolled his eyes. Juvia pouted. Jellal looked back and forth, wondering what he should do next. Mirajane sighed heavily, and, with a suggestive glance from Erza, began to talk.

"Th-there seems to be a disturbance near here, in an island just off the shore."

The others were silenced with another glare from Erza. They had never seen an _island _off the shore. It didn't exist!

Erza nodded her head toward a very confused Mirajane. When she got no reaction, hardened her gaze, urging Mirajane on.

"And, this disturbance- I'm not completely certain, but I think it may have something to do with Lisanna's disappearance. It feels black and evil, and I don't know what I'll do if you guys don't help me! I gave you that potion because I thought I could handle it myself, but I was wrong. We have to get to that island, or something bad will happen, I'm sure of it!"

Silence.

"Oh, god, I'm hungry."

Erza's eyebrows twitched. _Gray..._

* * *

_WENDY CHARLA, AND.. WE SHALL SOON SEE WHO... POSSIBLY... MAYBE... _XD

It seemed a thousand years had passed. Charla just kept walking, and Wendy just kept following. It was starting to come towards the middle of the day, so it was getting lighter. Suddenly, a figure appeared before them, short, and stocky, but he looked terrifying to the frightened mage and exceed.

They fainted and fell right on their faces.

"Oh, darn. Are they expecting me to carry them?" remarked Makarov Dreyar boredly.

He looked down at the two forms on the ground. Gosh. Why did they have to faint?

* * *

THANKS FOR READING!

Please review, I enjoy them, and they motivate me!


	17. My little excuseIf there's another,skip

To all of those awesome readers who are anticipating the next update. (AND to all those readers who won't admit they like the story and are still watching for updates in the shadows. BELIEVE ME- I know who you are. XD... Just kidding)

I may have told some of the people I PM regularly, but I haven't really announced(well, I haven't been ABLE to announce... more like…) that I was in a little accident. I haven't given out the details, but here, I will.

I cut my hand. It bled like hell. I can't type. Litterally. My little brother is typing this for me now.(While he giggles in fits of laughter.)

HOWEVER, due to my accident, I have a lot of schoolwork that I actually neeeeeeed to catch up on. I will not be updating any of my stories for a few weeks, or until further notice. That's my second excuse.

P.S: I always hated it when I saw a story I really liked, and the author made one of these.. So I understand how you people must feel.

(Cries bitterly.)

BUT! (Dah-duh-daaa!) I will be going to a friend-circle Fairy Tail Fanfiction Author camp! In this camp, it is mandatory for me to write a couple of one-shots, and I thought I might as well post them. So, with that, I'll be writing a couple of one-shots in 2 weeks.

(I REALLY THINK THIS SUCKS. I HATE WRITING THESE DUMB AUTHOR EXCUSES, BUT I SERIOUSLY CAN'T GET THIS DONE.


	18. Chapter 18

HELLOOOOOO

Happy b-day to meee! Happy b-day to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

It's my 16th b-day! yaaay meeeeee

Please enjoy. My hand is better, so I'll be updating my stories now. Not every week, though. I 'll have evil schoolworrk... _

(BTW: If this ain't 3,00 words, then sorry. I'll make the next one longer... (cries).)

* * *

_NALU ... Oops, sorry... NATSU AND LUCY_

Natsu led the way through the brush. Lucy muttered a curse, glaring at his bare back. She followed him, shivering as she hugged her wet body. He'd dried off by now, strangely enough, because he'd taken of his wet vest. Oh, AND steam curled off his skin, making it obvious he was warming up. Lucy was not impressed by his intelligence.

He kept on marching deeper into the dang jungle, with no apparent clue where he was going. Lucy began to get irritated, her glare deepening into a scowl.

'They' were looking for food.

Or, more accurately, Natsu was scavenging around aimlessly for food to get his mind off things. Lucy, the poor chilled girl, was walking behind him, maybe hoping to get some food after he found it.

However, none of these explanations are true. They were both not hungry at all. Natsu was following a scent of something familiar. He couldn't pinpoint what it was, yet, but he was following it. That's not all, though, he was also extremely distracted by the Celestial wizard behind him, who was making little whimpering and shivering noises. He really wanted to go and hug her, to banish all cold from her.

He knew he couldn't do that. Not after what she just did.

_FLASHBACK_

_"Lucy! Are you all right? Are you okay?"_

_Lucy's freezing form was oblivious to Natsu's frantic yells. He touched her arm, hoping to shake it to wake her up, but instead he was shocked by how cold she was..._

_And she was getting colder.._

_She had just passed out again after her nausea, laying limp on the sand. Natsu didn't know where exactly to find her pulse, but he wouldn't permit himself to check. That would be too low of him, to admit defeat just yet._

_"Lucy!" He wrapped his arms around her and tried warming her, while at the same time trying not to burn her. She shook her head a few times, before staring up at Natsu._

_"Natsu," her voice cracked. "What are you-"_

_She seemed to realize their position. She then shoved his shoulders, effectively pushing him away from her, along with all that warmth. She refused to meet his eyes, and he looked downcast._

_"Lucy, I-"_

_"Just stay_ away_ from me!" she shouted._

_He shrunk back, startled by her sudden outburst. She herself felt a little surprised, and she hugged her knees._

_Natsu sulked and trudged over to the edge of the trees. "Um, I'm going to go look for some food." he said, sounding hurt. Lucy looked up, and caught a glimpse of him disappearing. She got up shakily and began her following of him._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

"Lucy."

Natsu stopped at the edge of a clearing, staring at something, his fist shaking. Lucy, still in sort of a nauseous daze, bumped into him. He whipped around as she fell to the floor, but she refused his hand when he offered it, and pushed herself up.

Natsu turned back towards the clearing, his teeth bared, a confused, but honestly pissed expression on his face.

"Natsu, what do you-"

Natsu covered her mouth, successfully shutting her up. Her eyes widened, and her facial expression screamed what her voice could not convey: What does this mean? Why is it like this?

Natsu could usually smell all of Lucy's emotions, but now, he could only see one.

'I'm scared.'

He grabbed her hand with his free one. She didn't object.

A rustling sound emitted from the clearing. Lucy's eyes became wider. Natsu's serious stare looked onward, and he jumped, looking surprised.

"What the?" started Laxus.

"Natsu and... Lucy?" said Lisanna, a twinge of annoyance in her voice. Laxus's eyebrow twitched.

"Huh?" said Levy.

"AAAARRRG!" yelled Gajeel.

* * *

_ERZA, JELLAL, JUVIA, GRAY, AND MIRAJANE_

"Let's go! NOW!" yelled Erza, striking a heroic pose as she changed her armor back to it's usual form. She smacked Gray, making him fly a couple hundred feet before running back to their group.

The rest of the group agreed, following Erza, while a little skeptical. Jellal especially. He looked around worriedly, giving Erza suggestive glances. (A/N: If your mind is not in the gutter you know that I don't mean it in 'that' way. :/)

"What is that look for?" she demanded.

"I think we are being followed."

She looked at him, a concerned frown on her face. "Where."

It was then that the impact hit them, head on.

* * *

_MAKAROV AND THE TWO SLEEPING SACKS OF GOOD-FOR-NOTHING-AT-THE-MOMENT-NESS_

Makarov glared down at the two kids he was carrying. They both had cute, sleepy expressions on and they both were snoring loudly. He promptly changed his size, growing larger and larger until he was almost as tall as the ditch he was in. His body transformed into blackness, and his voice boomed as he yelled out, "Here we go, brats! I always liked adventures!"

He stomped on down the canyon, hoping nobody important heard him.

* * *

Thanks so much for the encouragement! My one-shot should be coming out this week-end!


	19. Chapter 19

_HEl,lo... thanks for reading so far. The climax should be in about 5 chapters or more, depending on my mood. Please keep your suggestions in your mind while you read, and write them in a review. THANKS AGAIN, and enjoy._

* * *

_NATSU, LUCY, GAJEEL, LISANNA, LEVY, AND LAXUS_

Lucy jumped, grabbing Natsu's arm like it was the only thing keeping her from falling off a cliff. Natsu stiffened, but kept his glare fastened upon the stirring figure on the forest floor. The trio of hiders, Lisanna, Laxus, and Levy, all had the same swear word on their minds. That word was _shit._

Gajeel moaned, turning over and rubbing his head. He sat up and smoothed his long spiky black hair back. He flipped over onto his stomach, and roared metal shafts into the air.

Levy flinched. _No, Gajeel, _she thought desperately, perhaps in a vain hope that he would hear her. She wondered what would happen next, if he attacked Natsu and Lucy. Time seemed to stop, as she held her breath and watched, her eyes wide with fear.

"_NO_, LAXUS!" screamed Lisanna.

Time sped up slowly. Laxus jumped out from where they were hiding, after muttering a particularly bad swear word that starts with an f. He slammed into the ground, behind Gajeel, but not in between him and Natsu.

Natsu glanced at Levy and Lisanna, who had come out from their bush. His eyes widened in realization, and his pink brow furrowed. He was still confused, but he knew one thing: there was something wrong with Gajeel. He didn't know exactly what it was, but he didn't want to take his chances. He made up his mind, but before he even started walking forward, he realized another thing.

Lucy was still holding on to his arm.

Now, he could always just brush her arm off him, and give her his 'this is business' look, but the circumstances were different. No, it wasn't because of what had happened on the ship, or the fact that she was angry at him. Natsu had practically forgotten about those events at the moment. It was her face when she saw Gajeel. Lucy's face had turned a deathly pale, her eyes wide. And yet, there was something else that Natsu had never seen before. She wasn't just frightened. Lucy was in a state of _pure _fear. She couldn't even _move, _and the thought of something that made her that _way... _

It made his blood _boil._

Natsu placed his free hand on Lucy's head, brushing her soft yellow hair. She flinched, but kept the same expression, this time directed at Natsu.

"N-na-"

"I _will _protect you."

It was so simple, yet it said everything that needed to be said. She dropped his arm abruptly, and covered her mouth with her hands. Natsu's hardened face softened, his mouth, previously in a straight line, was curved upward into a smile. No, not a stupid grin, a smile. He turned towards the clearing.

"Dang, and I thought they were gonna kiss for a second!"

_What the heck? _Thought Lucy.

Steam came out of Natsu's ears.

"W-what the hell does that mean?!" he barked.

Laxus grinned. "I figured I'd get the job done while you kids were being all lovey-dovey and shit."

Natsu and Lucy looked behind him. Indeed, Gajeel was floored, Levy kneeling next to him.

Lisanna scowled. "Oh, come on, Laxus. You know they would never do that!"

The two mages in question glanced at each other, their heads red. And, in Natsu's case, on fire. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!" they yelled in unison. "YES, _COMPLETELY _RIGHT! WE WOULDN'T EVER!"

Lisanna's eyes narrowed, as Laxus mumbled something questioning why the f-bomb would Lisanna care about that. An argument followed.

Levy was unconcerned about such trifle things as social problems. Gajeel was on the ground, knocked out again, and she needed to stay by him. In her opinion, Laxus had been way to harsh with Gajeel. She could have used solid script to create a brick or something to drop on his head. But _no, _he had to come in there in all of his lighting glory and smack the sense out of him. She glared over in his direction, and caught a glimpse of his and Lisanna's backs. They were facing some very embarrassed mages, Natsu and Lucy.

_When did they get here? _She thought.

Lucy saw Levy glancing at them, and waved nervously at her. Natsu stood bashfully, leaning against a tree on the edge of the clearing. Lucy kept inching away from him and staring at him cautiously. He did the same thing. Whenever their eyes met, they jumped and resumed examining extremely interesting plant specimens.

Levy rolled her eyes. _Clueless, ju_s_t plain clueless._

But, then again, perhaps she was too...

* * *

_MIRAJANE, ERZA, JELLAL, GRAY, AND JUVIA_

"I don't feel so good."

"Just be quiet."

"I'm gonna throw up..."

"Not _you too!_"

"Just be quiet!"

"Erza!"

"I SAID QUIET!"

Silence ensued. The party of Fairy Tail mages had come across a rather irritated ship captain, who, after some 'persuasion' from Erza, agreed to ferry them to the island. He kept grumbling about wizards who wanted to cross to some strange island, and then make out on _his _boat.

Mirajane perked up, completely shaken out of her seasickness.

"Making out? On _this _boat? Who?"

The old fat captain scrunched his eyebrows.

"A pink haired seasick young lad and an attractive blond gal. They fell off the side of the boat."

"Oh. My. God." Mirajane fainted.

"_WHAT?!_" screamed Erza and Jellal at the same time.

Gray sat there, looking like he was lost in space. He couldn't wrap his mind around the two dunces actually moving forward...

Juvia, on the other hand, was jumping up and down, reaching her hands into the sky, and making it drizzle. A rainbow appeared on the horizon.

* * *

_MAKAROV, WENDY, AND CHARLA_

"So, I see you've woken up."

Wendy hit her head on something hard. She opened her caramel eyes cautiously, and took in her surroundings slowly.

Charla was sitting next to Master Makarov, and staring into the fire that had been made in a pit. She was in some sort of prophetic trances that she gets sometimes. Wendy glanced too her right, where she sensed cold. They were under some sort of sheltered rock. Rain was pouring outside, and the chill from the water was slowly creeping up towards the two-people-and-an-exceed, despite the flames emitting from the fire pit. What could be _worse_?

Charla mumbled something under her breath, and Makarov strained his ears to hear it, but failed. That fact greatly bothered him, and Wendy could tell. He glanced at her, grinned, but then let the grin fade, and sighed. She was miserable, just as miserable as he was. It was just so dang _cold_.

It didn't feel right.

It was the middle of the day, so how on earth was it this cold? Yes, there was the rain, but, seriously? Makarov could see the humidity evaporating every time he took a breath! This wasn't right. Something else was at play here, and it was impossible to know what. He stared at Charla again, wondering when and how she would come out of her trance. Was it even possible?

Makarov didn't know. That kind of irritated him a little bit. He chewed on his thumb, wishing he had something else to do other than watch two little brats until the rain stopped.

He looked at Wendy again, who had fallen asleep, and was snoring lightly. She looked peaceful enough, curled up into a little ball with her blue hair splayed around her rounded form. He smiled, thinking of the youngest dragon slayer in the guild and playing with his moustache.

Just then, the air froze in his chest. He couldn't breath. He couldn't speak. He couldn't even _move_.

He had just heard something shocking, that made his insides feel like coming out and wreaking havoc. (bad, baaaaad image there...) He could just hear a little of what Charla was saying...

"Fairy Tail... will die."

* * *

Soooo... please review... I really like those...

BTW: I'm really sad right now. Somebody reviewed on Fairy Tail Facebook that they really didn't care about my other story...

SO IM REVING IT UP!

PS: Pleaaaasssseee check out my one-shot! I know it's really weird, but, hey, it was 3 o' clock in the fricking MORNING!


	20. Chapter 20

HEY, PEOPLES…

Here's the next chap. This time, it's a longer than normal one, so be happy.

Enjoy, and PLEASE REVIEW! :P

* * *

_MIRAJANE, ERZA, JELLAL, JUVIA, GRAY, AND THE SHIP CAPTAIN DUDE_

The boat rocked back and forth, each wave tossing it high into the sky. Each time even a drop of water landed on the deck, moistening it even a little, _someone's _feet were wet. It was miserable.

Jellal wasn't sure when the rain had started, but it was definitely sprinkling harshly by the time he had finished examining the relation between the waves wetting the deck and people's feet getting wet along with it. He was sitting starboard, now, his gaze upwards instead of down. He was watching the gloomy clouds edge closer to the sun, blocking out the daylight and deepening his suspicions. (A/N BTW: I love writing in Jellal's POV in 3rd person. Can you tell? I guess it's because I feel like making up for his OOC-ness in FTFB. I love Jellal. :3)

The weather continued to worsen, making the sunlight seem filtered, the now-feeble rays flitting in and out of view. The clouds were darkening, and the wind was getting stronger. Jellal placed his hand experimentally on his hair, testing if it was wet or not. Sure enough, droplets had already been collecting on the blue mop on his head. Sighing, he glanced towards the bow of the ship, where Juvia, Erza, and the Captain were having a conversation about something. It was probably interesting, as Erza was nodding enthusiastically, and moving her hands a lot as she talked. Her long red hair flowed in the wind, and she stood with her feet apart. He smiled without noticing it.

Beauty. Confidence. _Perfection. _He would be lying if he claimed he wasn't gaping. Scarlett smiled, at _him, _and a ray sunlight broke away from the clouds and graced the top of her gorgeous head.

He was head-over-heels, and she _knew it._

Well, at least that's what the ship Captain thought.

The Captain rolled his eyes. Poseidon, there had been too many lovebirds on his ship today. Perhaps he should get a sign or something that forbid honeymoons and couple trips. He doubted that would solve his problem, though. These people looked about as ready to confess their feelings in front of everybody as they were to drown each other. The blue haired one was completely lost by now, and the red haired woman was such a beauty that even he caught himself watching her. Lucky brat, that kid was.

He looked upwards, and his gray brow furrowed deeply. A storm was coming in, and he didn't like the look of it one bit. The waves intensified, and the ray of sunlight, previously shining on the gorgeous red head, disappeared completely. He frowned, but kept steering the boat towards that cursed island.

Jellal noticed the sudden change in weather also. He looked away from the love of his life and glared at the cold sea. He turned his glare towards Juvia, after determining the sea was not causing the rain, and a revelation hit him that it might be her making it rain. A certain ice mage saw his stare.

Gray looked at Juvia. Her blue hair was wafting around in the wind, just like Erza's, but it had a quality that her's didn't. Juvia's hair gave the illusion that it was water, perhaps the currents and flows of the ocean. He shook his head, and whispered something about rain in her ear, but she started crying.

"I didn't do it! It wasn't me, Gray! Whaaaaahaaaa.!"

That outburst seemed innocent enough, but it made Jellal freeze. If it wasn't Juvia…

_No. _It _couldn't _be.

But something in his gut told him it was.

It was getting colder.

* * *

_WENDY, MAKAROV, AND CHARLA_

"Fairy Tail.. will die."

"Fairy Tail.. will die."

"Fairy Tail.. will die."

"Fairy Tail.. will die."

"Fairy Tail.. will die."

"Fairy Tail.. will die."

"Fairy Tail.. will die."

"Fairy Tail.. will die."

"WOULD YOU STOP IT ALREADY?!"

"Fairy Tail.. will die."

"Fairy Tail.. will die."

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

The distressed 3rd guild master pounded his head with both of his hands. Charla had been sleeping in her trance for a while, now, but that didn't stop her from continuing to repeat that phrase that made him _bonkers_. If she would just shut _up_, he would be okay. He kind of got it the first time she said it, and it greatly irritated him when she said it again and _again_. Wendy wasn't much better. She was crying silently, her hands covering her eyes.

Oh, he had forgotten.

In his annoyed state, he had not remembered to mention that they were continuing to walk in the canyon. It was still pouring, but it was better than that cave they were in. The chill, as Makarov had realized, was actually coming from _inside _the cave. It really got his goat that he didn't know what it was, but he didn't look back. Something was wrong in that indent, and he was worried. There was a division of things, a very small division, but no less, a division, that really freaked him out. It was about the same size as Natsu's attention span, so you can imagine it was pretty small, but it was there. Just like the fact that Natsu could actually pay attention for a small period of time, so could Makarov be frightened. He frowned. It was kind of hard to admit that something freaked him out.

It didn't seem right that only that part was cold, when it was the only dry spot. He quickened his pace, anxious to make it out of the guild. This canyon was not the place he wanted to be at the moment. In fact, it was the very place he had been trying to avoid for a very long time.

It was the place Lucy Heartfilia would die.

Makarov could see the image of her in his mind. Her once-glossy blond hair was stringy, and covered in grime and dirt. So was the rest of the celestial wizard. Her shirt was ripped, so that only one of her tank-top straps was intact. She had bruises all over her legs, and she was curled up into a pitiful ball. It was completely silent, but if he strained his ears, he could just hear a familiar voice calling for Lucy.

He shook his head vigorously, trying to remove the image from his mind. If they could complete the mission, that wouldn't happen. None of his kids would have to die. No more than the many that already had.

He hadn't _meant _to see a little bit of Charla's vision. In fact, he despised the thought. He didn't want to see that! He didn't ever want to see any of his brats die. It had come too close yesterday. It was still a mystery to him, why Lucy hadn't died in the canyon. Wait. Maybe it was the voice he had heard when he saw the vision. It was so close, but he just couldn't grasp who it belonged to.

Charla shifted on his back, and he strained his ears to hear what she was saying.

"The next to die…"

Makarov froze. Wendy's head perked up, her eyes full to the brim with tears.

"Natsu D-dragneel, beware…"

An explosion sounded off in the distance, and a blue beam of light shot high into the sky.

* * *

_PANTHERLILLY AND HAPPY_

"Oh, please, you've gotta be kidding me!"

The black exceed sighed. For some reason, he had shrunk again, therefore, he could not carry the whining blue exceed.

Happy didn't like that.

"I am not kidding you. Now follow me, or else."

Happy giggled. "Or else, _what_?"

Pantherlilly's eyebrow twitched. He glared at Happy, before tuning his heel briskly, and continuing to follow that smell. Sure enough, when he turned around, that blue idiot was following him.

"I don't have time to carry you!" he cried. "we have to look for them!"

Happy shrank back, fake tears plastering his face. "I'M SORRY, LILLY!"

"Right." Lilly-kun (XD I love being the author. Can ya tell?) mumbled.

Silence ensued. Happy continued to remark about things like the weather, which wasn't looking that great, or the plants. He talked a lot about the plants. That irritated Lilly. A _lot_.

He kept his mouth shut and ignored Happy.

* * *

_NATSU, LUCY, LAXUS, LISANNA, LEVY, AND GAJEEL_

"Okay, this is how it's gonna work. Me and Lisanna'll go find some food or water or whatever. Levy'll go scout out whatever she wants and gather firewood. Natsu and Lucy will stay behind and watch that metal shithead 'till we get back. That fine with you all?"

Laxus held up his fist, threatening someone to object. Nobody did at first, thought Lisanna looked like she was being forced to swallow a frog. Natsu and Lucy didn't look much better. In fact, they looked like someone was going to force them to each swallow a _baseball_, instead of a frog. (Think of something like Ahmed the Terrorist trying to force-feed you quinoa on a plane flying over the Atlantic that had it's wings severed. ;P)

"With _him?_"

"With _her_?"

Laxus finally noticed the horrified looks on their faces. He frowned when he saw Lisanna's look and grumbled.

"Why's it such a problem? I thought you guys got along fine."

"But, um, what if they don't want to?" asked Lisanna.

Laxus scowled. "Who cares? 'Cumon." He grabbed Lisanna's arm and pulled her out of the clearing, despite her stuttered protests.

Levy, Lucy, and Natsu blinked at the same time. What the hell just happened? Not one of them was sure. Levy recovered quicker than Natsu and Lucy, who were looking around, still dumbfounded. The blue haired solid-script mage stood up and walked out of the clearing to scour the jungle for wood appropriate for firewood. Laxus had made it sound easy, but some of the wood on this island could produce too much smoke. She rolled her eyes inwardly.

Back in the clearing, the love-blind idiots had recovered. Natsu was pacing beside Gajeel. Lucy was skirting around the edge of the open space, which was only about 25 feet wide, and in kind of a peanut shape. It was completely silent, a fact that bothered Natsu.

"Lucy." He said it like an incantation or something. Lucy stopped abruptly and turned her head towards him, her eyes wide.

"We need to talk." He continued.

"Um, okay," She squeaked. "what do you want to talk about?"

He shifted. "Uh, you know…" he trailed off and looked up at the sky, noticing some clouds gathering and frowning at them.

"W-what?" Lucy asked, her eyes narrowing a bit as she glanced up at the sky also.

The clouds continued to thicken, darkening and swirling awfully near to where they were.

Thunder boomed loudly, shaking the ground.

Next was the lightning.

The bolt lit up the world, and the sky seemed like it was cracked by bright blue-ish lightning bolts. Lucy jumped and moved closer to Natsu as the rain began to fall.

"Aw, crap!" he shouted. He grabbed Lucy's hand and ignored the lurch in his stomach. Lucy flinched, but she was glad she had support, because her knees felt like jelly. He pulled her under the trees and, after a few seconds of battle with the thickets, he got through went over to a large tree trunk and sat down. Lucy, due to the laws of motion, was pulled down also, as her hand was still linked with Natsu's. He flumped down beside him, where she pulled her hand out of his and wrapped her arms around her knees, which she pulled up against her chest. She turned her face away from Natsu's direction.

"We left Gajeel." She said, rubbing her eyes.

"Damn Gajeel!" Natsu exploded. "Laxus doesn't get anything! I don't care if Gajeel is _left _to _rot_!"

Lucy glanced at him, her face questioning. She wanted to hear what he thought, even though every time she looked at him all she could think of was how soft and warm his lips felt on hers. (:X M-mwahahahaheheheh)

He was fuming, literally, and his fists were clenched, along with his jaw. His longer-than-normal canines seemed stark against the rest of his teeth. He wasn't angry at her, but he was definitely angry at somebody. Maybe it was Laxus.

Natsu noticed her looking up at him, and his eyes softened a tiny it. He blushed, grinned, and scratched the back of his head.

"But you don't need to worry about any of that, Lucy. It's fine. I just thought it was better for you to stay dry than for us to babysit Gajeel, that's all."

She nodded, blinking when he said that it was better for _her _to stay dry. Sighing, she felt a pang of nervousness in her gut. The situation with her and Natsu was tense, but they were still close, and they had still kissed. She couldn't forget that.

"Natsu." She said suddenly

"Hm?" he asked, standing up.

"I-well, I wanted to ask you something."

"What?" he asked. His eyes felt like laser beams on her.

"W-why did you…" she stopped herself.

His eyes widened, and perhaps realization dawned on him.

"You-"

"I-I-I-DO YOU LIKE ME?!"

* * *

Sooooo…. How was it?! Your opinion matters!

Please review and follow and favorite and whatever you wanna do.

* * *

AND NOOOOWWW… FOR THE CHARACTER'S OPINIONSSSS! (Sorry, it's overdue. I'll do a character opinion for the next chapter also, because I haven't been doing them. )

Natsu: Wa-wa-wa-wa-wawa-wa-wa-whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat the faaaaaawwkkk?!

Luy: *Makes serious face

ILAUGHATYOUALL: WTF? (This shouldn't be a surprise, though. The Author's opinion is _always _WTF.)

Jellal: OMG, OMG, OMG, no WAAAY!

Erza: Jellal is looking at me, Jellal is looking at me, Jellal is looking at me, Jellal is looking at me, Jellal is looking at me, Jellal is looking at me, Jellal is looking at me, Jellal is looking at me, Jellal is looking at me, Jellal is looking at me, Jellal is looking at me, Jellal is looking at me, Jellal is looking at me, Jellal is looking at me, Jellal is looking at me, Jellal is looking at me…etc…

Makarov: OMFG, what the hell is that?!

Charla:*Still in a prophetic trance.

Wendy: W-what is that?! 0.0

Happy: *Talks nonsensically

Pantherlilly: Thinks: STFU!

Juvia: *Cries

Gray: Juvia! STOP CRYING! Aaaaggh!

HARUXELIE: … A lot of people are crying, yah know…

ILAUGHATYOUALL: BTW: HXE (AKA: HARUXELIE) is mah unofficial beta-reader. She'll be publishing a story pretty soon here so it can be official. She's really funny.

HXE: You under-flatterer. I'm the REAL brains in this operation. Mwahahahahhahhahahahhahah…. (Sings _I am the Champion_.) I am soooo awesome. ;D JK.. Laugh did most of it.

ALLLSOOOO! Warning! VERY shortly this story will reach some sort climax, and the buildup before then is extremely dramatic and quite gruesome. I want you to READING, though. I wouldn't want you to think it sucks because something happens and then never read the rest of it. I assure you, it'll be fine.

It's _Natsu's_ Predicament, not _our's_, after all.


	21. Chapter 21

Hellooooooo, peoples! Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews, I have an important notice in my author's note at the end for you to read. Other than that, I have an awesome beta-reader now for this story and perhaps some others! Congrats, **adryanna's echo**!

* * *

_LUCY AND NATSU AND... SOMEBODY_

Natsu's jaw fell to the floor and his entire body turned bright red.

"I-I-uh.."

His expression was panicked, and his eyes danced around. He looked about ready to disappear on the spot. Steam came out of his ears, and the tips of his hair were spontaneously combusting.

"I thought I'd find you here, shithead!" yelled a deep voice. "I'm sorry- wait- no, I'm not sorry to interrupt your stupid love-fest. I'm here for you."

Gajeel pointed his fist at Natsu, his eyes wide, crazy, and glaring.

Lucy jumped about 5 feet in the air before landing on her feet. "The heck?! G-gajeel?!"

She cautiously wrapped her arms around Natsu's right arm. He was still frozen, but she wasn't going to be bait. She wanted to stay close to hm.

He stopped being frozen, and he noticed Lucy, but he didn't look at her face. Or her lips, for that matter.

But Gajeel didn't wait for any of that.

A wall of pure force smacked Natsu into a nearby tree. His head hit the trunk, and he blacked out for a moment. The entire world seemed so utterly far away and fuzzy for some reason. He could hear, just barely, a familiar girl's voice screaming his name. She was sounding farther and farther away. He felt the urge to save her, to help her in some way, but he couldn't move an inch. In his subconsciousness, he wondered why a girl would scream his name like that. She sounded like she was in pain, like she was afraid.

Wait a second, that voice was... Lucy!

And she was _afraid._

Natsu's eyes snapped open, and he gritted his teeth, ignoring the throbbing pain on his forehead and the blood leaking, unwelcome, into his eyes. He whirled around, searching the surrounding area, looking for a sign of her.

Seeing nothing that looked like a blond celestial wizard, he called her name cautiously. There was no answer. Frantic, he ran blindly into the rain, screaming her name, pleading for her to say something, _anything, _back.

And still there was silence, as if she had never been there in the first place.

Natsu collapsed on the ground after his foot hit a branch which unfortunately caused him to trip and get a face full of mud. Disgruntled, he pushed himself up and sat down, dazed. He couldn't stop thinking about it.

Lucy was _gone_.

He attempted to pick himself up and find her and beat the crap out of Gajeel, but only managed to stumble forward a couple of feet, before blacking out again.

* * *

_LAXUS AND LISANNA_

"Laxus, slow down!" yelled a flushed Lisanna. Laxus was dragging her to who knows where and she didn't like it in the least. He was ignoring her protests. His grip on her wrist was tight, like he was afraid she was going to resist, but his palms were sweaty. It started to rain, and thunder shook the ground. The coldness came suddenly, and she shivered violently. She could see the gray clouds swirling in the distance, and she could feel the cold wind biting at her exposed face and legs. A bolt of lightning struck in the distance, making Laxus turn his head.

"Wha-" Lisanna tried to plant her feet into the ground and stop Laxus from going farther. He ignored her again, weaving his way through the branches. She could barely keep up with him at this pace, as she had to avoid all the branches that he moved effortlessly around. Much to her surprise, he suddenly stopped, and Lisanna crashed into his back.

"Agh!" she fell to the ground.

Laxus turned around for the first time, and noticed Lisanna's condition. She was sweating and panting despite the cold, and she was laying face-down on the ground. Laxus released her hand and smacked himself. "Oi, Lisanna! Are you alright?! I wasn't paying attention..."

She picked herself up off the ground onto her knees and looked up at him, glaring. "Pay attention, next time. It'll help, I assure you."

Laxus scooped her up, bridal style. (A/N: 0_0 Did I seriously just write that?)

"Wh-wha! P-put me down!" she cried, struggling and blushing her face off.

"No. I'm gonna carry you somewhere you won't get wet and sick, silly." he grunted as he tripped over a loose branch, but caught himself.

Lisanna frowned. "You're the one who's sick! Before now you were running through the jungle like Tarzan, and now you trip on a branch? "

"Oh, shut up."

Lisanna sighed, before staring up at Laxus. He was definitely sweating, despite the cold. She pursed her lips, wondering if he'd be okay.

Silence followed.

She allowed her head to droop, and she felt herself relax. Maybe she could get some sleep...

Cold mud splattered on Lisanna's back as she was shocked awake. She screamed, opening her blue eyes and wondering how murderous she could get. Then she noticed what Laxus was staring at, and she gasped.

Natsu Dragneel was laying on the ground, unconscious, with blood streaming down his face. His hands were in fists, and his face was pained.

"L-lucy," he muttered. His breaths came quicker, and Lisanna shook herself and ran over to him.

"Laxus!" she yelled, "Pick him up, we need to get him to some shelter!"

Just then the storm got worse. The wind ravaged the trees and almost blew her over. Laxus lunged, grabbing Lisanna and Natsu and slinging them over his shoulders. He took off running, hoping that he got there in time.

"LUCY!" Natsu screamed in his sleep. Lisanna started crying. What happened to Lucy? Where was she? Why was Natsu injured?

Where was Gajeel?

* * *

_JELLAL, ERZA, JUVIA, MIRAJANE, GRAY, AND THE SHIP CAPTAIN DUDE_

The wind started blowing harder, and the Captain's eyes bugged out of his head.

"Thats- no way! Damn!"

Jellal whirled around to see what he was looking at. Clouds swirling in the distance confirmed his fears. A hurricane was coming.

"Captain," he walked over to the bow of the ship, trying to yell over the wind, "We need to beach this craft and set an anchor in order for it to not be blown away!"

"Yah don't think I know that, lad?! Git' your buttocks over to the bow of the ship and stay down!"

"Juvia!"

The rest of the people on the ship turned to the direction Gray's voice came from. He was frantically trying to grab Juvia and stop her from doing something. It looked like she was trying to control the rain, but it wasn't working. She sank to the floor and drooped in Gray's arms.

"We have to get out of here!" he yelled.

"We should beach the boat, and then turn it over so we can sleep under it if needed!" shouted Mirajane.

The Captain growled. "And how do suppose an old seaman and a couple of kids could do that in this storm?!"

Erza stood up, her face betraying only one emotion: determination. "I will handle the boat-flipping. The rest of you try to remain alive."

Jellal grabbed her arm and whispered in her ear. "You will be okay, right? Don't die or anything."

"I will be fine," she said, brushing him off.

Just then, a wave slammed the boat into a sandbar, jolting them all and tossing Mirajane and Juvia overboard.

"Mira! Juvia!"

"JUVIAAA!"

Just then Juvia burst out of the water, pulling Mirajane with her. All of them were soaked already, but Juvia and Mirajane seemed more soaked, if possible.

"Juvia!" Gray rushed over to her and pulled her to the ground as a wave shook the boat extra hard again, tossing it farther up the beach. Erza jumped out like an acrobat and put her hands on the side of the boat, which surprisingly was only 20 feet tall.

"Get down!" she cried, before shoving with all of her might. The entire craft fell over, making a complete roll before it fell upside down. Erza pushed the edge up and climbed under it, panting.

It was pitch black inside, except for a torch that the Captain held in his hand. She glared at him before crawling over and snatching it from him. She snuffed the light source into the sand without a word.

"You do not want to get rid of the oxygen under here. I would rather live another day."

They all stared in awe at her, Titania, flipper of boats, killer of evil monsters. Then-

Everyone blacked out at the same time.

* * *

_MAKAROV, WENDY, AND CHARLA_

"W-what is that?!" cried Wendy, shaking and crying.

The blue light expanded, and something shot out of the sky, landing right in front of them.

It was Gajeel.

And he had Lucy.

"Lucy!" Makarov yelled. She was unconscious, and limp in Gajeel's grip. He grinned at Master Makarov.

"So you're here! I never would've guessed that you'd actually be stupid enough to come," said the Iron dragon slayer.

Makarov growled. He didn't see a way he could help because of the anti-magic rain, but he couldn't just let Lucy die here! He had to do something!

"Gajeel," he said, his voice stern and cold, "If you don't put my kid down, I'll be forced to attack you, even if you're being mind controlled."

Gajeel snarled. "That's stupid! Both you and I know that this rain anti-magical properties! Only my magic works here!"

"Wrong. That is not _your_ magic."

"Shut up, old geezer! I don't need your damn logic! I'm just here to kill Bunny Girl and get the hell out of here!"

Makarov smiled, his grin making Gajeel waver a moment.

"So," he said, "Looks like the curse is wearing off for a moment. Good job, Natsu. Gajeel, you are Gajeel, not some other thing with lots of power. Remember that. You're a Fairy Tail mage!"

Gajeel collapsed. A black aura choked itself out of him, and dissipated into the rainfall, which was slowly becoming less thick.

Wendy and Charla were hugging each other, silently crying. Makarov gave them the 'It's okay, now please stop crying' look, and went cautiously over to Lucy and Gajeel. He dragged Lucy, who was covered with bruises and cuts, over to where Wendy and Charla were. Wendy sniffed the last of her tears and began working first aid on her, along with Charla's help.

_This is bad, _thought Master Makarov, _at this rate, they'll all be gone by tomorrow morning._

* * *

_LEVY_

Levy tripped. Again.

Pulling herself up, she trudged on until she heard the rain start.

"Crap!" she yelled, attempting to cover her head. She ran towards the beach in order to find that cave she had seen earlier. Then the rain it _really _started pouring. She whimpered under her rock wishing Gajeel was better and that she could talk to him about stuff. These past few days had left her exhausted. She hoped Natsu and Lucy were alright. She was pretty sure Lisanna and Laxus were fine, but she wasn't sure about Gajeel. She yearned to be back in the full guild hall, reading a book. She knew what would happen after that. Gajeel would come and stand, blocking her light until she looked up at him. She'd either glare and whack him, yelling suggestions about where he should stand, or she'd advise him to learn how to read before looking over her shoulder. Whichever she chose, he'd just grin and call her a shorty again. She sighed, reminiscing in her cold sheltered cave on the beach.

_Gajeel._

The waves crashed onto the sand harder than ever now, and she wondered, in a rather subconscious part of her mind, what would happen to a boat if it were on the water now. She laughed at herself internally, thinking that it would probably capsize and then spill it's contents into the briny blue. She was trying to distract herself, or maybe she was trying to prove she wasn't worried by laughing, but it didn't work. She still felt the warm tears on her cheeks. She buried her face in her hands and tried to wipe them off, but they came back, quick as ever.

If only she was stronger, like Natsu or Erza or even Lucy. She could save Gajeel and knock some sense into him.

Just then a boat flew onto the beach, scaring Levy out of her wits. She screamed, thinking that this was the end, but shut her mouth when she saw an Erza-like figure jump out of the boat and flip it over with strength that could rival superman's. It _was _Erza!

She ran over to the now landed boat and knocked on the side of it. The wind picked up and knocked her down, but she pounded on the side of the boat with a renewed energy. Erza was here, and maybe with the rest of the mages! Maybe they weren't all gone!

Maybe they weren't all dead.

* * *

Okaaaaay, thanks for reading! Drop a review, if you'd like. Please go to my profile and vote on what story you want next. I'm choosing based on the polls, and it's not too late!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Sign this petition if you want more Fairy Tail Facebook. change petitions/fanfiction-net-remove-the-no-script-chat-format-rule-2 (Remove the spaces)


	22. Chapter 22

_Thanks for all the reviews and support! Here's everyone's Christmas present... It's actually a bit late, but whatevs. Don't expect another update until February. I'm catching up with stuff, and discussing scheduling matters with my co..._

_Also, special thanks to my Beta-reader, adryanna's echo~! XD You, dear beta, are awesome. Together we will conquer the strange world of editing and dealing with my stupidity when it comes to typos. PM me if you find anything wrong._

* * *

_ERZA, JELLAL, MIRAJANE, GRAY, JUVIA, AND THE SHIP CAPTAIN DUDE_

* * *

"Do you hear something?"

"Huh?" Erza mumbled, trying to guess what Jellal had just said. He looked down at her.

They had all passed out at the same time, like some corny Fullmetal Alchemist reference (A_hem_), and had all woken up at the same time also. In the end, Erza had decided that they should all get some rest and try to wait the storm out before they tried to go explore wherever they were.

In the confinement of their temporary shelter, space was limited. Gray and Juvia sat with their arms around each other, and their backs against the wall. Mirajane was asleep beside them, her mouth slightly open, making her look like a rain soaked angel on pause. The Captain was in a corner by himself, muttering and whining about why he couldn't have a light. Erza was half asleep, laying across Jellal's lap, and he was leaning on the side of the boat, playing with her hair. She smelled like strawberry shortcake. (:3 So cute.. )

Jellal shook his head and repeated his question. He swore he could hear something, or _someone _pounding against the side of the boat.

"Seriously, Erza, I hear somebody yelling."

She opened her eyes and looked up at him sternly. "It's probably the rain."

He knit his eyebrows. "I know that, but I think I should check."

She closed her eyes again and muttered, "Go check, then."

"Um," he felt his face heating up, "I can't right now."

"Why?"

"You're laying on my lap," he said bending down so he could whisper.

Erza yelped and sat up, knocking her head hard against Jellal's. "Owch!" they both yelled at the same time.

"Um, sorry," she said, "You go check now, then."

"Right."

He turned and gripped the bottom of the boat edge and lifted with all of his might. It budged up a little bit. Not much, but enough for him to see someone's feet on the other side.

"Yup, there's someone there."

Erza dragged herself over to the side of the boat and helped him lift it. A drenched Levy rushed in and collapsed on the floor. Erza gasped.

"Is that you, Levy?"

"Uh-huh," panted Levy.

She was shivering, crying, and dripping wet. Erza wrapped her arms around Levy, giving her a warm hug. Jellal wished she would hug him like that more often.

"What's wrong, Levy? What happened?"

Levy shook her head, suddenly sleepy. "I'll tell you later, I'm... tired."

Erza nodded. She scooted up next to Jellal, who had slumped against the side of the boat again, and put Levy on her left, in between her and him.

Jellal frowned. "What is this supposed to-"

She cut him off and put a finger on his mouth, signaling him to be quiet. His eyes softened, and he nodded before closing his eyes. They'd been at sea all day, and he hadn't noticed how much time had passed. He didn't feel hungry, though. That was odd.

He felt himself relaxing as he drifted into sleep.

* * *

_NATSU, LAXUS, AND LISANNA_

* * *

Frankly, Natsu felt like crap.

He felt worse than he did after he found Lucy in that canyon. His head was still pounding, and he would bet a million Jewels he had a broken rib. Breathing hurt, but he had some bandages on his head and chest. He wondered who had done this to him...

He peeled his eyes open, wondering where he was. It was pitch black around him, and he could hear some nocturnal jungle animals screeching in the distance. He guessed it was the middle of the night.

He sensed a presence to his right, and, sure enough, something shifted.

His senses went on overdrive, attempting to find out what was beside him, where it was exactly, and if it was a threat. He sniffed, taking advantage of his dragon slayer abilities.

Marshmallows? _Lisanna_? Why was Lisanna here? He pushed himself up, his eyes adjusting to the light. Lisanna was sleeping softly, her arm around... Wait a second... was that _Laxus_? It looked like they had all gone to sleep exhausted. Laxus's arm was protectively over Lisanna, and her arms were wrapped around his wrist. He smiled, thinking of Lucy.

Then Natsu remembered. Lucy was missing. Gajeel had taken her somewhere.

She was _gone_.

His head snapped up. He stood up painfully, and left the shelter without a look back. If he was going to find Lucy, he had to look quickly. And he _would_ find her. That had to be a given. If he didn't, he'd never forgive himself.

He couldn't suppress the urge to call her name. "LUCY!" He yelled into the empty night. It didn't do much. The animals quieted for a moment, but resumed their grinding and chirping. He gritted his teeth, sporting a scowl that could freeze Gray. Oh, he'd give Gajeel the beating he deserved, for _sure_.

He stepped along the curious path in the jungle, aiming to scour it until he found her. He figured he'd collapse somewhere on the way from exhaustion and when he woke up he'd resume his search.

He didn't know how close exhaustion was for him, though. He hadn't had any food since the day before, and now it was night time. He had no idea how long he would hold out. Truthfully, he doubted he would make it through the night. Some predator might try to eat him or something.

Stumbling for a moment, (A/N: Gosh, the characters seem to stumble in jungles a lot, don't they? _) he caught himself by grabbing a low branch and hanging on it. He looked at the branch more closely, taking note that it seemed familiar. Yes! He'd seen this somewhere before! This branch was by the clearing that he and Lucy had met up with Levy, Lisanna, and the rest..

The branch snapped in his hand, and he ran onward in the direction he and Lucy had gone before she had-

He stopped the thought, then took a breath and continued thinking. She'd asked him if he _liked _her.

_Did _he?

Why was he even _asking _himself something like that?!

* * *

_PANTHERLILLY AND HAPPY_

* * *

The storm was picking up and the Exceeds struggled to walk on the path. Pantherlilly kept sniffing the wind, and Happy was crying like a crocodile again.

"I-it's s-so c-c-c-cold-d, L-lil-l-l-ly!" he whined, his teeth chattering. Lilly ignored him for the umpteenth time that day. Well, it wouldn't be day for much longer. The sun was setting fast, and, much to Happy's distress, it _was _getting chilly.

The black Exceed huffed and continued, brushing his shoulders off and wrapping his arms around himself. He suggested that Happy do the same, but he didn't listen. He was too busy whining.

Perhaps that was it. Perhaps Happy was only good for whining. While Lilly weighed the pro's and con's of stating this out loud, the blue Exceed was noticing something amidst his sufferings. He stopped short, falling onto his hands on the ground and pushing himself up again.

"Um, Lilly?" he asked, his annoyingly high voice shaking.

"What is it?" sighed Pantherlilly, scratching the back of his head and rolling his eyes.

"I-Is that Natsu?"

* * *

_MAKAROV, WENDY, CHARLA, GAJEEL, AND LUCY_

* * *

The cold rain pounded against the sandy ground, splashing on anything near the floor, therefore drenching Makarov from head-to-toe. He grumbled, kicking the dirt and stubbing his big toe. He uttered a curse as he looked back over his shoulder to an indent in the bottom of the rock, where Wendy and Charla were tending to Lucy. Gajeel's unconscious form was slumped against the side, water getting on his legs.

The Fairy Tail guild master sighed, looking up into the sky and narrowing his eyes. He was glad Wendy and Charla hadn't started asking too many questions. He'd probably have a hard time lying to them. And then, when he did tell them the truth...

He slammed his fist against the cold rock, his jaw set. That couldn't happen. He wouldn't let it, ever. He looked up, surprised, when he heard whimpering. He looked again at Wendy and Charla's direction, to discover that the whimpering was coming from Lucy as her wounds were tended to. His shoulders relaxed a little, but he was still worried.

He could only imagine what Natsu was thinking right then.

Makarov sighed, wondering what had gotten into the kid recently. He hoped that everything would get sorted out, but with the way things were looking... He shook his head of the thought. Something would happen soon, and he had to be ready for it. It wouldn't do if he stood out here worrying forever. He reluctantly walked to the shelter and sat down just out of reach of the rain. He still got a little wet though.

Wendy looked down at him, a hint of a smile on her face. She resumed Lucy's treatment, trying to keep the happy face, but ended up dropping it. Lucy was hurt badly, and it was up to her to fix her. The Wind Dragon Slayer finished bandaging Lucy's legs, and moved to her arms. They weren't as bad as her legs, but they were still cut up. She winced as Wendy applied some bandages, and chanted some ancient words of healing magic.

The cuts closed, and Lucy visibly relaxed. She sighed in her sleep, whispering something that Wendy couldn't hear. Well, at least that's what she claimed. The blue-haired girl smiled softly, turning toward Charla as Lucy repeated her words in her sleep. Charla's eyes widened, and she looked at Lucy with shock. She was pretty sure she had just heard something interesting...

"Natsu."

* * *

Yay! Thanks so much for reading! My poll results should be up on my profile now, but if they aren't, I'll know in the morning... Darn... I need to go to bed...


	23. Chapter 23

HEY GUYS! Did you think I was dead? Me TOO!

Here's your update. I will now be updating weekly!~ 0_0 Well, let me know... Was it worth it? :/

* * *

_JELLAL, ERZA, LEVY, GRAY, JUVIA, MIRAJANE, AND THE SHIP-CAPTAIN-DUDE-OR-WHATEVER-YOU-WANNA-CALL-HIM..._

* * *

"Erm, wake up,"

"Mhhhhhhmmmmm..."

"J-Jellal? Please wake up, or I might have to hit you,"

"Mhhhmmmmm..."

_SMACK._

Jellal's eyes snapped open. He rubbed his head, looking around and trying to make sense of the situation. What he saw was... interesting... Erza was asleep beside him, her head nestled in the crook of his neck. She was still sleeping softly, and her hot breath was hitting his face. Not that he minded or anything... He could stay here for a little longer.

Poor Levy was squished in between them, her fist raised threateningly. Jellal shook his head. He had his arm wrapped tightly around the two of them. The solid-script mage's cheeks were bright red, and she struggled to get out. The rest of their group was watching.

"Hey, do you think Levy is their daughter or something? What's she doing here anyway?"

Mirajane clapped her hands a jumped up and down. "Oh, my god! Maybe! She's got blue hair, like Jellal, but where did she get her brown eyes from?"

She looked questioningly at Jellal. He shrugged. He didn't remember what his parents looked like, and neither did Erza. Perhaps at one point they had, but those memories were gone now. Mirajane's weird grin faded. She cleared her throat, shaking her head and muttering an apology.

Jellal sighed, attempting to untangle his arms from around Erza and Levy. He had loosened them to the point where Levy could squirm out. She took the opportunity gladly and sprang out, panting. Erza, in her sleeping state, grabbed Jellal's arm and pulled it back around herself. She kept pulling, and he fell off balance. He could hear Juvia and Gray giggling like a bunch of idiots.

Pushing himself off of Erza wasn't the hard part. She wasn't holding onto him any more... The hard part was seeing her asleep after he had become untangled. Her face was a little pink, like she had a fever, but her look was peaceful. He smiled, forgetting that there was a group of people behind him.

Gray was trying not to pay any attention to the scene that he'd just woken up to. Instead, he walked all the way over to the other side of the boat and prepared to lift it, so that he could finally get out of the hell-hole. He nodded at Mirajane, who raised her eyebrows at him. Light was streaming in through a hole in the side of the craft, making Gray glare suspiciously at the Captain. He, unable to completely lift it by himself, jogged over to Juvia, who was watching 'them,' along with Mirajane, with great interest. He put a hand on her shoulder, making her jump.

"Oi, a little help here?" he asked, scratching the back of his head and looking everywhere but straight at her. She looked at him with wide eyes, a blush creeping across her pale cheeks.

"S-sure," she stammered.

Grabbing her arm awkwardly, Gray made way toward the side. He said nothing, but pointed to the bottom, like he expected her to know what he wanted.

Apparently, she did.

Thirty seconds later, they had lifted it up enough that Juvia slipped under. Gray gave a quick explanation to Mirajane, eyeing Erza, and slipped under after. Once outside, he quickly took the weight from Juvia, and set it down. It slammed onto the sand, making little pieces of irritating dust fly everywhere. Smart, Gray, _brilliant_.

They both started hacking and beating on their chests.

Meanwhile, Mirajane was having problems of her own. Her camera wasn't with her, so she couldn't record the look on Jellal's face right then. Boy, if she had done that, she would have wedding pictures. She was temporarily transported to her mental lair, where she kept records of what everyone's wedding arrangements were looking like.

She spun around the room, taking in all the contents. Finally, she came to Erza and Jellal's section. It was very nice looking, but there were lots of places for pictures. She sighed, coming back to reality and wishing for her camera.

Suddenly, a sharp pain ripped through her chest. She collapsed, gaining the attention of the rest of the people under the boat. She refrained from screaming, as she grabbed her dress and almost tore it. The pain was almost unbearable, but she managed to be partially silent. Erza, now awake, pushed Jellal off of her and walked over to her, completely awake.

"Mira? Are you okay?" she asked, concern laced in her voice.

Jellal lowered his gaze, a hint of red reaching across his awesome cheek. (XD LOLOLOLOL I'm so sorry, but I couldn't resist writing that and publishing it. /) His embarrassed face melted as soon as he saw Mirajane writhing on the ground.

"Mirajane!" shouted Erza, even more worried. Mirajane was lying in her arms, trying not to scream. Titania whispered something in her ear, making her calm down a bit. She began panting instead of just whimpering. Sweat seemed to pour off her body, and the Captain flinched when he looked at her. "We need medical attention for her," Erza growled, "Can you assist us?"

Rain began to patter on the top (or the bottom… Idk..) of the ship. Lightning scraped across the sky, illuminating the old bearded man's face. Erza glared, waiting for a response.

The Captain shrugged, looking up darkly. "I'm not sure I want to help something like _that_."

Erza and Jellal's faces scrunched up in anger. "What did you just say?" asked Erza, her voice dangerous and low.

"Don't you see that she's gone dark?" he asked, frowning, "Why protect someone who'll just kill you as soon as you l-"

His speech was cut off as Jellal's fist connected with his face. The older man growled, glaring at Jellal. He grinned, revealing an unattractive set of five teeth. Jellal frowned. Disgusting…

"What an interesting company you all have here," he said, chuckling. His green eyes glinted as he looked over Jellal more closely.

"One of the next dark ones, and then the one after that," he laughed aloud, his belly shaking, "And then," He looked at Erza, a strange look on his face, "The one.."

"…To die after that."

* * *

_NATSU_

* * *

Natsu Dragneel was reaching his limits. He was hungry, tired, drained, and plain frustrated. Oh, but you couldn't tell that from looking at him right then. No, he wasn't laying somewhere, dejected and defeated, he was screaming and running through the jungle, leaving a path of burnt wood and trampled ground behind him. A trail of smoke could be seen from the sky, so if by some weird coincidence you were skydiving, you would really feel like jumping had been the worst thing you'd ever done.

Perhaps even he would collapse at some point, but he really doubted it.

All of a sudden, he stopped dead in his tracks, whipping his head around like he was looking for something. He snarled. It was silent, and something was definitely wrong. The jungle had been bursting with noise until about a second ago…

"NAATSSUUUUUU!"

A familiar blue furball slammed into the side of Natsu's face. He coughed, grabbing it by the tail and holding it up at eye level.

"Happy?! What are you doing here?!" he asked, grinning. His eyes widened when he saw that Happy was crying. He shook him, his face confused.

"L-L-Lucyyyy!" sniffed Happy.

Natsu froze. He looked at Happy, not even taking notice of Pantherlilly's entrance.

"Did you see her?" he said urgently. Happy shook his head, looking at Natsu with tears still streaming down his cheeks.

"Charla saw something. It was Lucy!"

"And?" said Natsu, prompting him.

Happy looked up at him sadly. If possible, even more water was pouring out of his eyeballs. He remorsefully looked toward the ground. "She…"

"…was dead."

"What?" asked Natsu, his face paling. He dropped Happy and stared ahead, seeing nothing. Happy sniffled, rubbing his eyes. He hugged Natsu's leg, as he had fallen to the ground.

"Th-that's impossible!" Natsu yelled all of a sudden. He grabbed his head, shaking. This was not possible. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, _no_.

Pantherlily cleared his throat. He stepped forward, his face dark. "It's true," he said, looking down, "I heard it all from her. She had a vision of some sort. Apparently she gets those. And worse, they always come true. _Always._"

"You're kidding me," said Natsu, switching back to the stare-off-into-the-nothingness face. His features suddenly scrunched up. He clenched his fists, looking up into the gray sky. Rain began falling softly. Drops fell on his face, getting in his eyes, but he didn't care anymore. He resolved, then, to not let anything Charla said come true. He swore on his life that he'd stop whatever it was.

Images of Lucy ran through his mind, like his life was flashing before his eyes. Lucy smiling, Lucy blushing, Lucy trying to punch him, Lucy dancing out of the shower in her towel, Lucy kissing him…

Rubbing the water off his face, he straightened his stance, a determined glare in his eyes. He looked down at Happy and Pantherlily, who both looked very grave. He nodded to them, pointing in the direction of the beach with his fist. The Exceeds stared at him, shocked. They slowly nodded, coming to a unanimous agreement. They would find Lucy, and after they did, they would protect her with their lives.

They started running toward the sound of seagulls. Natsu growled, almost flipping as he tripped his way through the trees and underbrush. Happy and Pantherlilly had more luck, of course, since they were so short and could slide under the thorns. By the time they reached the sand, it had begun hailing. Natsu ignored the weather, focusing on the dark shape that was on the beach. It looked like… an upside-down boat…

He ran over, hearing a familiar voice yelling under it. Was that… Erza? He heard a strange scream, and some whimpering. He curiously lifted the side of the boat. He slipped inside, just in time to light up the room with fire in his fist.

Erza's eyes widened as they both looked at the Captain, shocked, and turned around to look at Natsu, who had just entered their hell hole. He looked exhausted, and he was all scraped up.

"Natsu?" she asked, still holding Mirajane, who had mysteriously gone silent.

Natsu glared at all of them, and Erza raised a brow. Something was definitely wrong with him. Perhaps the air around him was so… Un-Natsu-ish…

Natsu's gaze was directed at the Captain. His eyes widened, and his pupils were reduced to slits. He stalked over to him, fists clenched and snarl ready. He picked him up by the terribly-smelling shirt.

"You… I know you, pink-haired lad!" Captain said, shaking his head.

"Where. Is. She."

Erza's eyes widened. Natsu didn't even sound like Natsu. His voice was scratchy, and, somehow, murderous. Jellal flinched. He'd only heard that voice one other time, and that was back at the Tower of Heaven.

The Captain looked back and forth nervously. "I-I don't know! I have no idea!"

Natsu tightened his grip on him. He raised him up to his face, until the Captain could practically smell his anger. The once-soft onyx eyes of Natsu's were reduced to pinpoints of fury and rage. However, it was a strange and calm rage, like he was too angry to yell.

"You know where she is. If you don't start talking," whispered Natsu, "I will _kill _you."

The Captain gulped, and then grinned in Natsu's face. "I had a feeling that you'd figure it out. H-how about we go and find out?"

"If that's true, then you'd better get your ass moving, old man. I won't hesitate to end your life right here and now," Natsu growled, releasing the Captain, who fell to the floor.

Erza stared up at Natsu in shock. He'd never been this angry. She shivered, wondering if even she couldn't get through to him now. No, that was it. Maybe she couldn't, but Lucy might be able to! Whoever Natsu was looking for may be important, but it was possible that Lucy could help She decided to ask him about it quickly.

"Natsu, just calm down, please. Erm, where's Lucy?"

Natsu's eyes widened. He glared down at Erza.

"Shut the hell up," he spat, "This is _for_Lucy. Gajeel took her, and I'm going to get her back her before it's too late."

Erza raised her head, confused. "But why…" Her face froze, shocked. She glanced at Natsu as he stalked over to the Captain again.

_So, Natsu, you're caught up in all this too…_

* * *

THANKS FOR READING!

I really apologize for my lateness and procrastination, but I wanted to get ahead so I wouldn't fall off the face of the earth. Again. :) Next update is next Friday, though I might surprise you this next week... ;)


	24. Chapter 24

_Ehehehheh... It's been a while since I wrote an entertaining author's note... I don't think I will for this one... :/_

* * *

_LISANNA AND LAXUS_

Lisanna Strauss opened her big blue eyes, trying to see even though her sleepiness blurred her vision. She blinked, and rubbed her eyes, attempting to get the bleariness out of them. The morning birds were chirping happily, in a nostalgic way. She felt something warm wrapped around her waist, and she snuggled against it. Yeah, warmth probably kills, ya know. She took a closer look at the source of warmth. It was… a very familiar arm.

Her eyes widened, and she reverted, as all anime and manga characters do at some point, to chibi form. Her head twisted around until she faced the person sleeping next to her. She sweat dropped.

"L-Laxus?"

He mumbled something in his sleep. An irritation mark appeared on Lisanna's face, and she frowned, her eyebrows twitching. She pushed Laxus's arm off of her, and stood up. She brushed herself off, and then noticed something disturbing.

Natsu was gone.

She froze, becoming un-chibified. Where on earth was Natsu? With his injuries, he couldn't have run far, if he had decided to leave. She groaned, slapping her forehead. Natsu was such an idiot sometimes. It should have been obvious that searching for Lucy would be easier with more people! But nooooo… He had to go off on his own and he was going to collapse and die somewhere.

She turned to look at Laxus's sleeping form. He looked quite peaceful there, snoring with a bubble in his nose. She sighed regretfully. She would have to leave him to go find Natsu.

Wait…

Was she choosing Natsu over Laxus? Was that what this was in truth? It sounded ridiculous, but true at the same time. Her eyes veiled, she thought about how worried and distressed Natsu had been when Lucy had disappeared. A single tear slid down her pale cheek. She started, shaking a little. Why was she crying? This wasn't about Laxus and her at all! This was about finding Natsu and Lucy!

Rubbing her eyes, Lisanna put her sandals on, stealing glances at Laxus in fear that he would wake up too soon. She tip-toed to the exit of the cave after glancing apologetically at the blond. Her mouth became like a straight line, and she walked out into the cold mist and rain. Yup. Just a regular morning for Lisanna Strauss.

* * *

_WENDY, LUCY, MAKAROV, CHARLA, AND GAJEEL_

In all realms of consciousness, it is possible to communicate with others. In all real places, like on the ground, or in the sky, it is still possible to speak with someone else, but the physical circumstances may halt two people from discussing anything. If so, then why try to communicate at all if you are in a physical place? Why attempt telekinesis or things like that? These thoughts raise the question of if two different people in both a realm of consciousness and in a physical realm could attempt to communicate with each other. Could this question be answered?

Wendy wasn't certain if it could. She did know, however, that this was the only possible explanation for what was happening. Lucy, in her sleep, was attempting communication with Natsu. That _had _to be it. What other reason could she have for calling his name?

The bluenette tried sorting things out in her head, trying to make sense of the situation as she talked to herself. Charla was asleep again. Nobody blamed her. She was tired from that vision. Gajeel was knocked-out and leaning against the side of the canyon, the rising sunlight coming over his eyes. All of this made for a strange scene, accompanied with the fact that Lucy at the time was rolling around in her sleep, hugging herself at calling out Natsu's name.

A sweat drop appeared on Makarov's forehead.

Of all annoying brats on earth, Lucy Heartfilia had fallen for _that _one.

Makarov shook his head, realizing that it was impossible to understand anyone in Fairy Tail. They were all crazy, brilliant _and _crazy, or just plain dumb. Makarov liked to put himself in a separate category, as he was the Master, being amazing _and _brilliant.

Bah! It didn't even matter! He needed to focus on solving the problem at hand, not on the internal mess of the guild he had. Yes, the very problem that would most likely kill him in the end, as well as the rest of his brats. The question was if any of the mages would rise to the challenge and stop the darkness. It had practically killed Lucy, and most of the other mages. They had to be found and brought back before it was too late.

"LUCY!" screamed Wendy, all of a sudden, breaking the silence of thought.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Lucy Heartfilia's big, beautiful brown eyes opened slowly. They looked around where she was with sadness. She whispered, in her once-sweet voice, now cracked from too much use in one day, "Natsu," Her eyes got very misty. They closed.

The sound of her hand falling and slamming into the ground could move mountains. The world started moving faster again, as rain began to fall and splatter on them all.

"LUCY!"

* * *

_ANONYMOUS AND ANONYMOUS (I'M GONNA LET YOU GUESS THEIR IDENTITIES WHEN I DESCRIBE THEM…)_

The mages walked slowly down the empty streets of the town. Their steps echoed against the walls of the shops that lined the place. It was like a ghost town. They didn't know who they were, where they had come from, or where they were going.

This place did seem familiar, though, that was certain.

Every step they took brought them closer to the center of the town, where, instead of a town hall or fountain, a large stage-like box loomed. The mages' eyes narrowed as it stared up at the large object. Then it shrugged, and continued wandering aimlessly around, no purpose in sight. It turned, noticing someone was watching them.

The other person was a woman with long, beautiful red hair. She wore armor, but her gray eyes were warm. She looked just as curious as the mage itself did.

"Who are you?" it asked. Jumping, it realized that it was a girl from the sound of its voice. She looked down at herself. Sure enough, she was wearing a sleeveless top and a short blue skirt. A ring of keys was hanging on her waist, and a whip was strapped to her belt.

"I don't know. I was about to ask you the same question," said the red-haired woman in armor, smiling, "I can tell that you aren't someone to be cautious with. You look nice enough."

"Ah," she said, sweat-dropping. She scratched the nape of her neck nervously. "Um… do you know where we are?"

"No."

"Then…. I'm not sure what to do next…"

"We could go climb on top of that stage. We'd be able to see farther if we did that," said the red-head.

The blonde nodded in agreement. She started walking toward the edge of the table-like block, spying some dark blue stairs by the side of it. Approaching it cautiously, she put her tip-toe on the first step, then the second, and then the third. Each step brought her closer to the top.

For some reason, it was very hard to actually walk up the stairs.

They finally reached the top of the stage-like block. It was so high that it actually was possible to see beyond the town and into part of the forest beyond. It seemed like the green trees stretched for miles, as did the green grass and the pathways that ran through them. The air smelled slightly sweet, and it made the girls feel melancholy, perhaps something like homesickness.

The strawberry-head looked up at the sky, noting that the steady glare of sunlight was cooling down quickly. She scanned the horizon, smiling when she saw that the blonde was completely taken by the beauty of the scene before them. Turning in a circle, she looked around at the rest of the town. It was so strange. Though the whole view itself was breathtaking, but something was definitely wrong. She could feel this, as if it were a sixth sense inside of her. It didn't matter that she had no idea why she felt this way, only that she did.

For some reason this place was familiar.

* * *

_HAPPY AND PANTHERLILLY_

Happy the Dragon was bored. That was the only explanation.

Of course, Pantherlily was completely occupied with the conversation going on inside. From what he gathered, it wasn't going well. Natsu wasn't himself. It was like some sort of rage had consumed him and threatened to explode out of him at any moment. The black exceed knew that the moment that happened, it would be in his best interests to get the hell out of there. However, if he ever hoped to save everyone, including Gajeel, he would have to do something. He sighed, leaning against the cold wet wood. Closing his eyes, he slowly breathed in the salty air.

A smashing sound reverberated against the surface, bumping Pantherlily and shaking the ground. Happy looked at him, his eyes wide with fear.

"What was-" Happy cut himself off in shock.

Lily looked at him curiously, and noticed where he was looking. It was at a gaping hole in the top of the ship. Smoke and fire were pouring out of it and into the sky, even though, in turn, rain was pouring in. A single figure was standing above the wreckage, with glaring red eyes and a crazed smile.

"What the…" Pantherlilly was at a loss of words. He knew it could be bad for all of them. This was perhaps the worst thing that could've happened. This could mean that all was lost, and it was impossible to get it back. That mage, who was now snarling, glared down at them murderously, a black aura surrounding him.

"Natsu Dragneel… why?"

* * *

THANKS FOR READINGGG

A/N: Guess where I am? :| Well, I'm not incredibly happy about it, but I'm in Japan for the rest of 2013. Yup. I'm not saying where. _ Also, this chapter is early because my co won't be able to discuss plot inconsistencies and crap on Friday. The next chapter will be early too.

* * *

OH, ALMOST FORGOT!

AND NOOOOOOOW... FOR THE CHARACTER'S OPINIONNNNSSSSS!

Lilly: WTF

Happy: What does 'WTF' mean?

Natsu: Waiting... erm... to... erm... 0/0

Lucy: :O Good lord, please help our dear PERVERTED friend Natsu...

Natsu: = Friend-zoned...

Lucy: I-I never said that!

Natsu: FIRE DRAGONNNN ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR R!

Author-sama: (*winks as **Fairy Tail Facebook** fans) Natsu had gotta learn that roaring can't really solve everything...


	25. Chapter 25

_So... I thought this chapter took a bit of a dramatic turn... Just a warning. Also, I'm making it so the sequel to this story makes sense even if you haven't read this one. Makes it easier. _

_ANOUNCEMENT: This chapter is early because certain people won't be available this Friday. Next Friday, the scheduled updating will continue._

* * *

_NATSU_

Natsu had never been really good at controlling his anger. No, he never just lost it and destroyed everything _without _holding back. Yeah, when one of his nakama was in trouble, he'd be in an all fire hurry to get them to safety and to beat the crap out of whoever did it, but this... what he felt now... was different.

Very Different.

He felt inexplicable anger overcoming hm. he wasn't sure why, but he felt like rage was coursing through his veins like ice-water. He opened his eyes, trying to see what was around him. He ended up squinting because it was too blurry. He felt something warm surrounding him, probably fire.

Screams.

He tried looking around him, to find out what was happening with his own eyes, but it was like he had no control over his own boy. His arms and fists moved without his permission, slamming into something hard. He felt himself jump and land on something, then start destroying things. The weird, inexplicable hatred he felt was urging him to lose it, to actually do whatever his body was doing. He felt like he should put his heart and soul into this anger.

And that was when he heard the voice.

_She's dead, _it insisted. It sounded like chalk scraping across a blackboard, mixed with hissing sounds.

Wait... Who was dead?

As if to answer his question, the hissing sounds got louder, and the voice spoke even louder, seeming to swirl and twist around him. He felt his body start moving again and destroying more things.

_Lucy Heartfilia is dead._

And that was when all hell broke loose.

* * *

_MAKAROV, WENDY, CHARLA, AND GAJEEL_

He stared down at her already cold body in shock. Lucy Heartfilia's beautiful brown eyes were closed, and her blond hair was messy and tangled. Her skin was pale, and cold. Too cold.

What surprised them even more was when she started to fade away. Her body began to dissolve into a silvery mist. Wendy covered her mouth with her hands to stop herself from screaming. Makarov looked down in horror. Charla wasn't much better.

"LUCY! NO! DON'T D-D-DIE! WE _NEED _YOU!" Wendy screamed, letting go of her mouth as tears streamed down her face and fell to the ground, mixing with the rain that had begun to fall again,

"NATSU NEEDS YOU! STAY! Please... Stay.." She began sobbing out the word stay pitifully a few times. Then, still crying, she cried out for someone, _anyone _to save Lucy. She tried to cure her, recklessly using her magic. It was useless. Wendy collapsed across Lucy's chest, sobbing. Makarov was frozen. He couldn't move, or make any sound at all. Charla was silent, terror written across her face and tears building up in the corners of her eyes.

Gajeel woke silently, rubbing his head and noting that it was pounding painfully. He heard a little girl sobbing, and looked in the direction the sound was coming from. He froze when he saw Lucy Heartfilia fading away into a silver mist. His eyes widened as he realized what was happening.

He sagged and fell back toward the ground, covering his eyes. He honestly didn't have the strength to get up and look at Wendy. He wondered, vaguely, where Levy was. For some reason, he was worried about that little bookworm brat.

* * *

_JELLAL_

The scary part wasn't Natsu. What truly struck terror into Jellal's soul was the fact that Erza was the one fighting him.

Normally, he wouldn't worry one bit about Erza. She was tough. But... Natsu wasn't himself. There was something wrong. The red glow in the fire dragon slayer's eyes and the black smoke that was surrounding him gave a not so subtle hint of that fact. Either that, or maybe it was his un-Natsu-ish sadistic grin.

But all that was beside the point. He pushed himself off of the ground. It seemed that the ship was in a wreck, mainly due to the explosion that had just occurred. Wiping dust from his eyes, he watched as Erza glared at the not-Natsu.

He sneaked closer, trying to get behind fake Natsu and pound him. He caught Erza's eyes, as he crept behind the pinky. They widened in recognition, terror plainly written on her face.

"No, Jellal! Get the HELL out of here!"

Jellal shook his head, before running up to the fake Natsu's back, using Meteor to speed himself up. He slammed his fist into the pinky's back, shoving him forward and onto the ground. He quickly put a foot hard into fake Natsu's back, pushing him further into the ground. He lifted his head, glancing at Erza with a triumphant smirk on his face.

"What was that about getting the hell out of here?"

"You are such an idiot sometimes," Erza retorted, walking over and kneeling beside Natsu. She narrowed her eyes at Jellal's foot.

"Why are you stepping on him?' she asked.

Jellal scratched the back of his neck. "So he can't get up, I guess."

She nodded, probably agreeing with this idea. Sighing, she squinted her eyes at Natsu's still body. Her mouth straightened into a firm line, and she smiled up at Jellal. "Do you want to check if he is unconscious yet?"

Jellal shrugged. He lifted his foot off of the pinky's back, and leaned down to examine him. He couldn't help but notice that the way her hair fell in front of her face was cute. With great effort, he tore his eyes away from her face and flipped Natsu over. Sure enough he was out. Snoring, in fact. His face was covered in wet sand, but other that, he was fine. Jellal sighed. It was amazing how resilient this kid was.

With some encouragement from Erza, he heaved Natsu onto his shoulder. Erza then insisted that he wait while she looked for the others alone, but he refused. They needed more people looking to find survivors.

Footprints.

Upon being thoroughly examined, they revealed that everyone had gotten out okay. Jellal looked closely at them, and saw that all of their friends, and the captain, had escaped the wreckage. Cursing, he kicked at some of the sand. Hefting Natsu higher on his shoulder, he motioned for Erza to to follow him, and headed toward the entrance of the jungle.

"Jellal, are we going to look for them?" she asked, coming up close behind him. He turned to look at her.

"No," he said, stopping, "I was thinking that we'd find some way to fix Natsu before he wake up. Any ideas?"

Erza shook her head. She rubbed the sides of her arms, looking to the side. "I think Master might know, but I have no idea where he is now."

Jellal sighed. "Maybe we could try on our own. This magic power... it feels familiar. I should be able to do something."

She examined his face. "I think we should just tie him up."

"Alright then. We'll bind him and try to find Master Makarov."

* * *

_LUCY AND ERZA_

"I wonder what kind of place this is?" asked the blond, twirling a little and gazing at the horizon.

She and the red-head had sat there on the edge of the large block for a while, looking at the sky and the surrounding landscape. Before long, the sun had begun to set, bathing them and everything else in a dazzling orange and gold light. A few bodies of water were visible in the distance, and the water glittered and sparkled, tuning orange and pink with the sky.

Suddenly, at this peaceful moment, the blond collapsed. A searing pain ripped through her brain, and she clutched her head. The re-head yelled, running over to her and cradled her head in her lap.

_Natsu._

The blond gasped, then grit her teeth and closed her eyes tightly. She felt like something in her mind was on the verge of breaking. It was like it was on the tip of her tongue, and it hurt. She _knew _that name.

_Remember, Lucy. Remember everything. _

_Lucy Heartfilia. Yes! That was her name! She was Lucy Heartfilia! Erza was with her now! She was a mage in Fairy Tail... a... Celestial mage. Natsu was... Natsu was..._

That part troubled her. Who was Natsu?

Other than that, a warmth returned to her, yet it seemed so sad that it did so. She wondered, almost subconsciously, if she was dead. Perhaps she was in heaven... She wanted to sleep...

_She felt herself drifting away._

* * *

"_No!" cried a voice. Lucy turned. Suddenly she was floating, like she was standing on an invisible platform. Her hair flew around her, untucked and without any ponytails. She was wearing a white dress, that seemed to be made of pure white cloth. It was waving about, just like her hair._

_A boy -no- a man was standing in front of her. His hair was bright pink, which she wanted to giggle at. He seemed to recognize her, which was weird, because she swore they'd never met. His eyes were onyx, and pointed. They were wide with a strange feeling._

"_Who are you?" she asked in genuine curiosity._

_The pink-haired guy fell to his knees, a stricken look on his face. He looked like he had just lost something._

"_Lucy."_

"_You know my name?!" she gasped, holding her hands to her mouth. She looked hard at the man._

"_Why do you know my name?!" she demanded, holding a finger to him. Her face must have been priceless, because he started laughing like his sides were going to split._

"_WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!" She yelled. She lost her balance and fell toward the cold white marble flooring. She prepared for impact, but it didn't come. She opened her eyes. The pink-haired guy was smiling down at her. He had caught her, and was holding her in his arms._

_Lucy looked up at him, confused. There was so much emotion in those eyes. His grin widened when he saw her big brown eyes open. Her eyebrows were knit together, and she had little tears in her eyes, probably from her fall._

"_You're okay," he said, stating the obvious. She blinked, giving him a confused look._

"_Well, duh..."_

_Lucy felt something tugging on her. When she tried to see what it was, she felt pulled even more. It was like a wind was blowing her away. She felt her arms wrap around the guy's neck, which was strange, because she had never met him before. Weird. It didn't feel all that bad..._

_She felt her presence becoming holographic. She cried out, but her voice didn't make a sound. The pink-haired guy's eyes widened in shock. He tried holding her tighter, but she was disappearing faster. It wasn't like she was becoming transparent, but she could definitely sense that she was becoming numb._

_He laid her down gently, whispering something that Lucy couldn't hear. It took her a minute, but she realized that she couldn't really hear anything._

_She felt herself become strangely limp. She lifted her hand upwards, as everything became blurry._

_Natsu was frantic, he tried picking Lucy up and holding her again, but it didn't work. She was fading. Distressed, he rubbed his eyes. They were strangely wet._

_Then it hit him. He was losing her again._

"_No, no, no, NOOOO! STOP IT STUPID! A DISAPPEARING ACT HAS NOT BEEN SCHEDUALED!"_

_He leaned down, looking at her smooth face and trying to touch it. Surprised, he realized it was still solid, but slowly growing colder. Without thinking, he kissed her soft lips._

* * *

Lucy's brown eyes flew open. She sat up, touching her lips. She could still feel the sensation of his hot lips on hers. Why were they so warm?! Why would he kiss her anyway? She didn't even know him!

Then she saw Erza and her heart split. "Erza.." she said shakily, tears spilling out of her eyes.

The red-head looked down at he, very confused. "What do you mean, Erza? Is that the name of a friend? Do you remember something?!"

Lucy nodded. "I don't understand, but my memories are all back now. I... know someone named Erza," she explained quickly. She wasn't sure why Erza was there, but it was clear that the requip mage didn't remember her. Not wanting to make the situation awkward, she lied. She also wanted to sort some things out, and didn't want to explain everything to Erza right then.

Erza helped her up, grabbing her arm and tugging. Lucy stood, then looked out at the darkening sky and the pink horizon.

_Natsu, _she thought. Somehow, that name was associated with loudness, not a quiet pink horizon over Fiore. She broke out of her thought trance when Erza tapped her shoulder and suggested that they find somewhere to sleep. She smiled. She knew just the place.

* * *

THANKS FOR READINGGGGG! Please review. I read every single one. :D


	26. Chapter 26

_HEY GUYS!_

_Here's the next chapter! Next chapter will be out late, as I will be extremely busy next week. _

* * *

_J__ELLAL AND ERZA_

* * *

Perhaps walking through a mysterious jungle, while the mist was just clearing up and everything started to smell better, wasn't all that bad. If he ignored the bugs buzzing in his ear, and the mosquitos biting every available piece of skin, walking through this hell hole with the love of his life was pretty interesting.

Sighing, he glanced at her. She was walking silently, a determined look on her face like always. He wished that she wasn't so wound up all the time. Of course, she was also staring at his back. Natsu.

Suddenly, the buzzing of the buzzing bugs became louder, filling the vicinity with a loud noise. Jellal _wanted _to clamp his hands over his ears, but his arms were busy keeping Natsu (That damned lug...) on his back. He noticed Erza had already put her hands over her ears. Shrugging, he dropped Natsu and put his palms over his ears.

Avoiding Erza's glare, Jellal dropped to his knees, still clutching his ears. He rolled his eyes when he saw that his thighs sank half-way into the sticky mud. He uttered various profanities.

He was then shoved shoulder-first into the sticky mud by none other than Erza. He was about to give her payback, but then he noticed the urgent look on her face. She looked worried, and gestured to her left. Jellal took the hint, but when he spotted the swarm of buzzing bugs that was streaming toward him, he didn't look really happy.

He closed his eyes and pushed Erza down as the mighty mass of bugs swarmed over them, landing on them and buzzing around.

_Fuck, _thought Jellal. (Oh, how pleasant. Thanks, you dirty mouthed... Gah...)

Jellal closed his eyes. His arm was wrapped around Erza's shoulder, covering her a little, but not much. Natsu was... He didn't know where Natsu was. Not that it mattered. Natsu could survive just about anything.

When the bugs and buzzing had finally subsided, he was still laying on the ground, sunk in mud, in shock. Before long, he groaned as he pushed himself up off the shitty muck. He glanced over at Erza, only to see that she was already standing up and surveying the scene. How very much like her.

Jellal managed to get up on his knees, but he felt a little dizzy. Deciding it was nothing, he grunted and stood. Despite the fact that he was covered in mud, he didn't feel particularly hot and the moment. His knees wobbled a little and he tried to walk toward Erza, and his hands slammed into the muddy ground again. Erza turned, wondering what the hell he was doing. Her eyes widened when she saw his back shake, and heard a coughing sound.

"Jellal?" she asked, a tone of worry in her voice, "Are you alright?!"

Jellal couldn't reply. He was too freaked out at what had come out of his mouth after he coughed.

Blood.

There was splattered blood in his hand.

"E-erza..." he said softly. She ran over to him, turning him over and grabbing his shirt. His head lolled to the side limply. She shook him.

"JELLAL?! Wake up right now!" she ordered, before noticing the blood dripping down his chin and freaking out. Jellal, in response, groaned loudly.

"Owwwwwww," he complained, still not lifting his head, "That really hurtsss, Erzaaaa..."

She sighed, softening her grip and raising her eyebrows. "Do not freak me out like that again. It was not pleasant."

"Yeah," he agreed, "I- I don't want to worry you anymore."

The grip on his jacket tightened again. Jellal sighed inwardly.

"Jellal, look at me."

"I-"

"You what?"

"I-"

"Don't..."

His whole body relaxed, hanging limply as Erza held him up by his shirt. She let go of his shirt, before catching his shoulders.

"Jellal?!"

No answer.

"Jellal?! Are you awake?!"

Still, silence.

"Wake up, Jellal! Get up RIGHT NOW!"

_Dammit..._

* * *

_LEVY, HAPPY, AND PANTHERLILLY_

* * *

The trio walked carefully, yet quickly through the deep jungle. Tropical birds screeched and cawed at them from the upper regions of the trees. An irritation mark appeared on Pantherlilly, when the thought crossed his mind that perhaps they were mocking him...

Happy the dragon followed close behind him, glancing side-to-side nervously. Every so often a tear would appear in one of his eyes, but he would rub it away before his companions saw it. Levy was last, almost dragging herself along to keep up with the Exceeds.

Of course, she wasn't really paying much attention to them. Levy was just worried... about certain things... and certain dragon slayers...

She subconsciously blushed when she thought about it, then slapped herself when she realized what she was thinking about. This action earned a worried glance from Happy, who was actually wondering about something like that himself. Charla.

Natsu was also on all of their minds. He definitely wasn't himself, and something was very wrong. However, when he had seen Erza's face, he ran after Pantherlilly reluctantly. It really was a pity. He sniffed and wiped another tear.

* * *

_GRAY AND JUVIA_

* * *

"What was that?!"

"Juvia doesn't know. Let's go check it out."

Awkward silence.

"Um, sure," said Gray, looking to the side. He shook his head, turning and running toward the booming sounds. He froze and sniffed. Something was on fire.

He sped up, almost leaving poor Juvia behind. She yelped, but his gaze was set on a burning wreckage in the distance. He grit his teeth.

By the time they both arrived, it was over. The last pieces of the boat were strewn about, charring and smoking into the grey sky. Gray cursed, searching the area for his friends. Juvia's face was worried, and she frantically began lifting huge chunks of wood out and around, looking for them. Gray stopped her, putting a hand on her arm.

"Wha-" he stopped her, pointing to the footprints that were leading out of the beach and into the jungle.

Her eyes widened. "Let's go, Gray," she said, grabbing his hand and dragging him. His face had a strange look on it.

"..."

"What was that?" asked Juvia. Gray had just mumbled something she could hear.

"I said-...-"

A wave crashed hard onto the beach. Her eyes widened.

* * *

_LUCY AND ERZA_

* * *

"Here we are," Lucy said, smiling shakily.

The red-head looked around the huge hall, taking in the greatness of such a place. It was obviously an important place. Wood lined the banisters that led stairs up to a second floor, where tapestries with a strange mark hung. Warm colors filled the room, making it seem homey and nice. Without realizing it, she sighed in relaxation.

"Um, I think I know a place we can sleep," the blond said, pointing in the direction of a door.

Her eyebrows knit together. Her new blond friend did not seem well. Her smile was fake, and she didn't seem to like the fact that the place was empty.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.

Lucy collapsed on her knees, her back shaking as she sobbed. The red-head bent down quickly to comfort her. Taking shaky breaths, Lucy leaned against her.

"Whatever you are sad about, you can tell me," Erza assured her.

_No. No, _she thought. Lucy didn't want to admit it, but she was worried that Erza would abandon her if she told her what she knew. Erza didn't even remember her... or anyone else at Fairy Tail.. Jellal... Her nakama...

That was it. Her nakama. That's what had always kept her strong. Even if they weren't there now physically, they would always be there for her. She hugged Erza, resolving to find her nakama and get her mess straight, if it was the last thing she ever did.

Somewhere near, a strange smile lit up the face of a mysterious unknown person. All was as had been planned.

* * *

Kay, so I was listening to "I write sins not tragedies" while writing part of this chap. Funny, right?

I'm so tired. Jetlag REAAALLLY SUCKSS


	27. Chapter 27

_Helloooo New chapppterrrr!_

_I have decided to end this story pretty quickly. I have an ending planned out. Even though I had originally planned a sequel, I'm getting a bit bored and have WAAAAAY too many ideas going through my head to stick with a sequel. Don't worry, though, all the issues will be resolved._

* * *

_GAJEEL, MAKAROV, WENDY, AND CHARLA_

* * *

Makarov was silent. His eyes were veiled, but it was clear he was deeply upset. Wendy was shaking and sobbing on Charla, who looked extremely freaked out.

Gajeel's head was bowed as he sat there in the rain. He cursed himself.

"N-no, that can't be..." muttered Charla, shaking her head. Makarov looked at her curiously.

"What?" he asked. She glanced at Wendy.

"I just had a vision. It doesn't look good."

* * *

_JELLAL (APPARENTLY IN AN UNCONSCIOUS STATE... EITHER THAT OR A DREAM...)_

* * *

Sometimes, when people have no idea where they are, they cry. Sometimes they despair. Other times they wander around, clueless, until they accomplish something. Jellal did neither.

"Erza?! Erza?!"

Yes, he was hopeless. Of course, the only way he excused himself from ridicule was that he was in love. That was justifiable, right?

He sighed. Just because he loved her didn't mean that everything would be great and happy and everything. She was light, and he was darkness. It didn't work. It would never work. He had to get out before it was too late.

Yet no matter how many times he told himself that, he found himself smiling when she did. When she was sad, he felt the need to make her happy again. It was very annoying, but at the same time satisfying. It was like he didn't even have a choice on the matter. His heart didn't agree with his mind and it was driving him nuts.

No, it was better for Jellal to leave before it got worse, before he really became too attached to leave. He knew this was what he should do, but... How did he get into this mess anyway? He didn't have any obligation toward Fairy Tail... Okay, maybe he did, but that wasn't the point. He needed to focus on getting rid of the dark guilds with Ultear and Meredy.

The only problem was that he couldn't help himself. He abandoned anything and everything when it came to Erza. He'd do anything for her.

He'd even die for her.

It was then that a force began to tug at Jellal's presence. He searched for its source, but he was unsuccessful. In his blank white world, he felt like something cold and black was sucking him out. While he couldn't see it, he definitely felt it.

What the hell was this?

* * *

_ERZA, JELLAL, AND NATSU_

* * *

Jellal was unconscious. Erza wasn't sure why, but he was. Well, now that she thought about it, maybe the part about him coughing up blood caused him to lose consciousness. She slapped her forehead before dragging Jellal's limp form over to a partially dry portion of the pathway. Natsu had been moved over to the bushes before, so he was fine and she didn't need to worry about him. Jellal, on the other hand...

She held her right hand two inches above his mouth and nose to see if he was breathing or not. He was. Good. Next she checked his pulse. His pulse was fine, but his breathing was quick and erratic. At least he was breathing...

Erza sighed, leaning her back against a tree that was right beside her. She had Jellal's head in her lap, and was watching him closely.

Strange. His face had a pained expression...

She leaned down and looked at him closer. His mouth was slightly ajar, and his brow was raised, like he was questioning something. He slept like a baby.

"W-what are you doing?"

Erza froze. Her eyes became wide and she looked over at an awake Natsu. He looked really tired, and there was a cut on his cheek that made him look sickly. He was covered in mud, but then again, so was she. He blinked at her. She stared at him.

The next instant she had him pinned on the muddy ground. He stared up at her in surprise, his mouth agape. Her brow was lowered, and the look in her eyes was murderous.

"Nothing that concerns you," she said. Natsu swore she was blushing.

He was about to point this out when she gritted her teeth and a sword suddenly appeared in her hand. She held it up to his neck.

"WHOAH ERZA! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" He protested, waving his arms and legs around and shouting like a kid.

"Shut up and let the interrogation continue, idiot. What were you doing before you woke up?"

Natsu stopped for a moment to think. What had happened? He didn't really remember anything other than... He froze.

He stared up at Erza, a strange look on his face. "She's dead," he said in a hoarse voice.

"What do you mean?" Erza asked harshly. Natsu winced.

"I-"

"Wait, don't tell me..."

"Just... I don't-"

Erza sighed, getting off of him and sitting by Jellal. She checked him again, leaving Natsu abandoned and laying on the cold ground.

* * *

_LISANNA_

* * *

Lisanna ran through the tropical plants, trying to avoid tearing her skin on them. She had to move quickly, in the case that Laxus woke up too soon and decided to come after her. Just thinking about that made her wince. There would be hell to pay later...

Brushing the painful thought out of her mind, she pushed past a very spiky branch and tumbled over a footfall. She yelped, falling and then landing on her butt in a cold substance. She looked down. It was mud.

Groaning, she sat up, keeping her eyes closed as she rubbed the sore spot on her head.

"L-lisanna?"

Lisanna opened her eyes and found herself staring at a very depressed-looking Natsu, a tired Erza, and an unconscious Jellal.

"Natsu! Erza," she cried, pulling herself up and running over to them. She tackled them both, hugging them closely. When they all let go, she looked around, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Where's Lucy?" she asked, looking around.

Natsu stood up abruptly. There was a painful expression on his face. It was so sad and angry that Lisanna couldn't help but just stare at him. In all her time knowing him, he had never had such an expression.

"Natsu," she whispered.

Erza sighed. She didn't like where this was going. Her suspicions were confirmed when Natsu turned and left, passing some of the brush and disappearing. Lisanna's mouth opened in shock, and she raised her hand towards him, trying to act against his abrupt exit.

The white-haired mage stood, looking back at Erza quickly for permission. Erza nodded. Permission given.

Lisanna went after him.

* * *

THANKS FOR READINGGGGGG

Next update is next week! (As it always is...)

And thanks again for my wonderful beta for this story, **adryanna's echo**!


	28. Chapter 28

HEEEEYYYZZZZ Sorry for the lateness. This'll be done soon.

* * *

_LAXUS_

* * *

Laxus Dreyar stirred in his sleep, not yet awake. He mumbled something about bunny girls, before turning over. Suddenly his eyes shot open. His head whipped back and forth, looking for Lisanna.

You guessed it, she wasn't there.

"DAMN IT!" he yelled, "She left me here, didn't she?!"

Growling, he pushed himself up off of the ground. She must've been captured, of course. Why else would she leave him?

…. And Natsu was gone as well.

Laxus's eyes bulged out of his head for a second. Did they run off together, leaving him behind to snore? Those idiots.

While Laxus was struggling with the thought of being abandoned, a second worry entered his mind. What if they (those evil mother fucking bastards who abandoned him) had run into that? His eyes widened at the thought. No, that wouldn't be good.

He stood up quickly and headed out.

* * *

_LUCY AND ERZA_

* * *

Lucy had a sad expression on her face. She looked over at Erza and smiled. Erza gave her a nervous smile back. Sighing, she looked down at her hands, her eyes widening a bit when she saw her pink guild mark.

Last night, it had been hard to sleep. After she had calmed down, they had found some beds in the infirmary to sleep in. Lucy couldn't sleep much, and every time she woke up from some nightmare she found that Erza had crawled into her bed. Figures.

And when she lay awake there, not able to sleep, she thought of that strange boy. She felt like she should know him somehow. He certainly acted like he knew her. Her eyes widened when she remembered how he'd_ kissed_ her.

She made a face like this: O/O

Lucy felt her face heat up, and she slapped her cold hand on her forehead. She sighed.

This morning was different. Today, they were going to explore the town and see if they could find anyone. Much to Lucy's distress, it was empty. It didn't look a day older, but the fountains and drinking fountains didn't work. When they reached the center of the town again, Lucy turned to her red-headed friend and smiled sadly.

"It looks like we're the only ones here," she said, sniffling. When did I become such a crybaby?

Erza came over to her again and patted her on the head. "It's okay. As soon as I get my memories back, we can come up with a plan."

"I know you."

'What?"

"I said, I know you. I remember you."

Erza stopped. "What is that supposed to mean?!"

"It means that you have to get your memories back, no matter what," cried Lucy, "You have to remember all of us, Erza!"

**… AWKWARDDDDD**

* * *

_JELLAL (IN AN APPARENT DREAM STATE)_

* * *

Jellal struggled against the strange force that pulled and dragged him into the darkness. He didn't know what it was, but it was cold, black, and not at all appealing. He grit his teeth and pushed against it.

It's no use.

What?

You won't be able to escape your own nature.

Jellal was speechless. What the hell was this voice, and what was it talking about?!

They all hate you, yet you want what they have. They have everything. You deserve to suffer, yet why don't they suffer?

He couldn't speak.

You know I'm right.

He blinked, and when he opened his eyes, Erza was standing in front of him, her Heart Kruez armour on. His eyes widened. She was crying.

"Erza," he said. She didn't respond.

He looked to his side and saw Lahar, who didn't even look at him and yet told him that he had no hope. No hope at all.

_And Erza did nothing._

Suddenly Jellal was back to when he was arrested. The memory was fresh in his mind. It was like he was reliving was bruised, his memory was faulty, and the girl he loved was crying. He knew that he had to atone for whatever he had done, but he wasn't completely sure what that was. Despite that, he willingly left, no matter how much Erza cried.

_She let them._

What?

_She let them take you._

But she was hurt, too! She respected his decision! That was the only reason she didn't stop them right then and there!

If she loved you, would she do that? If you were in her position, wouldn't you do everything you could to make her happy? You love her, yet she chooses herself over you every time. Her light is so beautiful, but it's something that you can never achieve. Why do you think that is?

The scene changed, suddenly, into one where he was just a child. The soldiers in the tower tied him to something cold, then left him to...

His eyes widened in shock. A strange voice was whispering to him. He felt it all again. The pain. The realization that something was entering his body through his eye... No... His eye! His... eye...

Young Jellal raised his head as Erza ran up to him, crying. She asked him if he was alright. He grinned, yet it was not him grinning. Strange.

She screamed.

Switching scenes again, he suddenly was pinned to the cold floor of the top of the Tower of Heaven. Erza was straddling him, her sword inches from his neck. Her face was furious. He looked up at her and felt himself telling her everything. Well, almost everything.

"You know I've always loved you, Erza."

He grasped his head, shaking and falling to his knees. He was in a cold, dark place again. He could practically hear his shaking bouncing off of the walls.

"NO! What is this?!" he cried. A splitting pain was driving through his skull. He kept hearing Erza's voice.

"Stop." Take him away.

"Stop!" He's useless.

"AAAAAAGH!" He yelled.

That was when he blacked out.

* * *

_LISANNA AND NATSU_

* * *

"Natsuuuu!" Lisanna cried, running after him, frantically trying to catch up. She stumbled, then grunted as she tried pushing faster. It seemed like Natsu sped through the trees effortlessly.

She transformed into a giant bunny, and began hopping faster and faster. One of the perks of transformation magic was that her physical strength could be greatly increased. She caught up with Natsu in no time.

Grabbing his shoulder as she transformed back into her original form, she clenched her teeth. He stopped, but didn't look at her. His eyes were veiled.

"Natsu, tell me what's going on! Right now!" she stopped in front of him and looked him straight in the eye. His onyx eyes widened back down at her.

"I told you, I didn't want to talk about it. Now get out of my way," he said through gritted teeth.

A sudden quake in the earth caused them both to stumble. Lisanna caught herself on the ground, but Natsu stared toward the center of the island. The shaking continued. Natsu bent down to help Lisanna up.

"What is that?!" she cried as it became louder. The sound drowned out the last part of her sentence.

"I DON'T KNOW!" yelled Natsu, succeeding in the area where Lisanna failed.

Lisanna pointed toward it, suggesting that they go check it out. Natsu nodded, apparently forgetting his misery for a moment. Either that, or he realized it was useless to try to struggle for something he could never gain.

Natsu sighed, and began running with Lisanna toward the source of the sound and quake.

* * *

THANKS FOR READINGGGG


	29. Skip this crap

Hey guys. Bad news.

I have some very bad writers block. It gets worse, though. It's only for THIS STORY. (Aaaand the other ones I put on hiatus... o_O)

I will get back to finishing this soon (we're almost there!), but I want to focus on exams and crap, and also working really hard on my other stories that I want to publish this summer.

I will replace this with the real chapter as soon as I can, but it might be a while.

Sorry. (cries eyes out) "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine..."


	30. Chapter 30

_These are the last 2 chapters. Thank you all for reading so far!_

* * *

_LUCY AND ERZA_

There is a point of no return. Yes, it is not as bad as Hell. It is much, much worse. Lucy had reached this level of embarrassment.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry!" she wailed, covering her mouth while her cheeks burned. Erza raised an eyebrow.

"No, it's not a problem. I believe that I know you from somewhere. I... I don't remember now, but I will soon." She patted Lucy's head affectionately. Lucy sniffed.

"I'm still sorry about bursting out like that," she said, "It was out of line, and I don't think I should have said it. It must be hard for you, too."

Sniff.

Sniff.

"I told you already, it's fine. Now, how about we go find our friends?"

"Yeah."

Erza smiled, and reached for her hand. Lucy wasn't okay, and she wanted to comfort her as much as possible. Lucy took her hand, and together, they walked toward the edge of the town to explore.

And that was when they heard it, a cry to agonizing, so painful that it made them feel the same way. It was a yell of anguish. Erza's brow furrowed. No man should feel that much suffering.

"LUCY!"

Lucy's beautiful brown eyes widened a fraction of an inch. She _knew _that voice.

A bright light obscured further vision.

* * *

_GAJEEL, MAKAROV, WENDY, AND CHARLA_

* * *

"Something big is happening," Charla stated, her expression grave, "And worse, there isn't a thing we can do about it. It's all up to.. them."

"What the hell do you mean by that?!" yelled Gajeel, "Everyone is in danger! What do you mean by 'them'?!"

"Gajeel," Makarov said, a warning evident by his tone.

"I mean, if it's everyone's problem, we should work together. That's what being comrades and all that shit means anyway, right?!"

"I suppose you're right," answered Makarov for Charla, "But that would only be true if it was 'our' problem. It's only the problem of four individuals. We just have to wait and see."

Gajeel's teeth were clenched, and his fingers were digging into his own fists. Makarov swore he saw blood. He glared down at the Master, fury clearly seen through his features.

"We _can _help, however."

Makarov grinned at the voice that he had heard. He looked to his right and saw Mavis, glowing more brightly than ever with a strange white light.

"It seems the cleansing spell is needed."

* * *

_NATSU AND LISANNA_

* * *

Explosion.

A searing gust of what seemed like wind blew Natsu and Lisanna back a few hundred feet. Natsu felt his head knock against something hard. He slowly started losing consciousness. His body went limp, and his limbs felt suddenly very heavy and cold.

Lisanna felt like she was floating, and she felt a burning sensation on her side. It was painful, and she winced as she felt herself collide with something soft and hard at the same time. Strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her closer, then shielding her from the heat. Wanting so much to open her eyes, but not able to, Lisanna's eyebrows knit together.

"It's gonna be okay, it's gonna be okay..."

Weird. She swore she recognized that voice. It sounded like a man, repeating a phrase over and over to convince himself of something. But she could tell he wasn't talking to himself. He was saying it to her. _Why?_

Laxus. Her eyes widened. She could barely see his shaking form above her. Suddenly, she was blinded by a white light. Her eyes slowly closed.

* * *

_ERZA AND JELLAL_

* * *

He was gone. There was no other explanation. He was just... _gone_.

"Jellal?!" Erza cried, testing. There was no answer.

She knit her eyebrows. There had to be a reason he would just leave like that. She called his name again. Several more times.

Erza stood, wincing as she stepped on a scraped part of her foot. She grit her teeth and began trying to find Jellal. She heard a boom. Her eyes widened.

"Jellal?!"

Hot air rushed toward her. She could somehow see it, and began frantically tripping away.

"Jellal?! Where are you?!"

The only explanation she had for afterward was that an angel had come.

* * *

_JELLAL_

* * *

He could feel his body fading away. His consciousness was falling deep into an abyss. It was almost like... almost like...

Was he dead?

No. He'd felt this. When he was in that weird unconscious state earlier. What had happened? Where was he? When did he wake up? Oh, wait. He hadn't woken up yet...

His head... felt very light.

He opened his eyes, before quickly closing them. The light in the sky, also known as the sun, was quite bright. He squinted, probably trying to see. (Oh, God FORBID! :O)

He grunted, opening his eyes completely.

For some odd reason, he couldn't recall a thing. He had no idea who he was, or where he was, for that matter. He sat up, his hands behind him for support. At that moment, he saw something. No, someone.

What. The. Hell.

She was perfect. Damn, her red hair... her armour.. God, she was gorgeous.

_But she was quickly obscured by a blurring light._

* * *

_Thanks for reading!_

_The last chapter will come out immediately after this one. I've already written it and everything._


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: Okay, so this might be a little confusing, but it works. I'm sorry if you have no idea what's happening. Basically, this is meant to leave you guessing. Use your imaginations.

* * *

A bright light, more luminous than anything any of them had ever seen, was blazing above them. It was something inexplicable, something so strange that none of them could describe the effects of it afterward. It was... cleansing.

"_Well, seems it worked, huh?"_

A voice rang out along the white.

Lucy, Erza, Jellal and Natsu all clung to each other. Memories were gained back, returning to caverns of the mind that seemed empty. The pieces of a large puzzle began coming back together.

Everything stopped. Every painful thing that was happening at that moment froze and discontinued. Natsu, moments before seeing the love of his life and not recognizing her, was whole again. Lucy, who knew that Natsu didn't recognize her, was relieved. Erza and Jellal, both trouble individuals, were met with a certain peace.

The mages back on earth, that had been suffering such harsh things, also paused. The whole world paused.

And then everything started again.

First, it was quiet. Nobody dared to move. They were all sitting in their guild hall, like they had never left. Everyone was healed, physically and emotionally. Natsu sat in the center of the hall, his form shaking. Lucy was beside him, as she should be.

"What the hell was that?!"

The silence broke in an instant. Long lost family members and friends and comrades hugged each other and didn't let go. Reunions were sweet, but short. Everyone wanted to greet each other. No one seemed to want to know what the heck had happened. Too many tears were being shed.

Natsu stood, his hand in Lucy's. He gazed down at her soft face, and the beautiful brown eyes that peaked up at him. Before he knew what he was doing he was hugging her tight, never wanting to let her go ever again.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Luce. Never. I'll never do something like that again."

"What do you mean?" asked Lucy, her eyes wide. Natsu looked at her. There were tears in his eyes. It was _so _unlike him.

"It... was me. I caused all of this."

"WHAT?! Why?"

"It was... erm... because..."

"Yes? Because?"

"I made this wish."

"And what was this 'wish' you made?"

"It was that... uh..."

"Hm?"

"That you would... and I..."

"Natsu, just tell me already. I won't get mad. We're together again."

"It was that you would, um, love me."

He knew it sounded stupid, but that was what he really wanted. His greatest wish was that no matter how it happened, Lucy would love him.

He hadn't realized that the author had set it up so that it wouldn't be so easy. In fact, he had to have a magic spider, a coffin, love potion, a curse, and a kiss to make it all happen.

Lucy touched his face, trailing her finger down his chin.

"Well I have to admit that you're an idiot," she whispered, "But it seems that it worked, didn't it? It's all better now. The nightmare's over."

"Yeah... Still doesn't change tha-"

She cut him off, not wanting to hear him blame himself again. Her mouth covered his in a matter of seconds, and she kissed him fiercely, hungrily. Her arms wrapped around his neck to bring him closer, and he suddenly realized that his arms were encircling her thin waist.

"Lucy," he muttered into the kiss. She smiled.

"Whoah, what did he say before they started making out?"

"That he started all of this?"

"Oh, my god. He's SUCH an idiot!"

"Yeah, and he doesn't even notice us talking about him. He's too busy smooching Lucy."

Lucy pulled back, frowning at the remarks made by their close friends and guild mates.

"Hey, don't be hating on Natsu. He's had a hard time. He didn't mean to do any of this."

"Yeah, but he's the one who decided to use that spell," said a familiar voice. They flinched. Makarov.

"Nevermind."

Natsu stood, a pink tinge on his cheeks. And he began to explain. Why he loved Lucy, how long he loved Lucy, and why he would do anything to have her.

"Um..." said Gray, backing away slowly, "That's not what we wanted to hear... We wanted to-"

He was cut off as Erza stepped up, holding Jellal's hand. "Not that. Natsu, you just announced that you were in love to the whole guild. What do you have to say for yourself?"

She squeezed Jellal's hand and he realized something. Everything he'd ever thought about her leaving him was wrong. She was there all along.

So Natsu blushed. God, it was embarrassing. He'd explained all that and it wasn't even what they wanted!

But then he looked down into Lucy's eyes and forgot all of the worst. He had his life cut out for him, sitting on the floor.

Never mind that. It isn't even our concern. It's Natsu's Predicament, not ours.

* * *

_**FIN**_

* * *

A/N: I think I actually might cry.

You know, I had a dream once that I had just given birth to this baby, and I looked down at it, and it was ugly, but it was _my _baby. I think I have a very similar feeling looking back on this typo-riddled work.

This... this monstrosity is my very first work. I'm not proud of it, but at the same time, I am. I'm finally finished with it. I will most likely end up re-writing it at some point in my life. But now I'm about done being tied down. I'm free. Many more fanfictions will come, you can be sure of that. All of them will hopefully be awesome, funny, and amazing. None of them will be my first. This one keeps that title.

**Thank you all for reading! If you want more, feel free to check out my other works. I have several up.**


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